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DEADLY Attitude! The Truly Shocking story of Pakistan Airlines 8303

Mentour Pilot・2 minutes read

A gear up Landing and dual engine failure occurred in a rare aviation emergency, leading to a tragic crash in a residential area with many fatalities. The incident was attributed to non-adherence to procedures, fasting pilots, and a lack of Crew Resource Management, leading to revelations of fake licenses among airline pilots.

Insights

  • Aircraft incidents like gear up landings and dual engine failures are rare but can occur, emphasizing the critical importance of adherence to standard procedures and meticulous attention to detail in aviation to prevent catastrophic outcomes.
  • The tragic crash of the Pakistan International Airlines flight highlighted the significance of effective crew resource management (CRM), proper situational awareness, and the detrimental impact of distractions such as fasting during critical flight operations, underscoring the need for continuous training, oversight, and regulatory compliance in the aviation industry to ensure passenger safety.

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Recent questions

  • What led to the aviation accident in the summary?

    Lack of adherence to standard procedures and communication errors.

  • How did the crew's fasting for Ramadan impact the flight?

    It may have affected their decision-making and performance.

  • What were the consequences of the crew's failure to address warnings?

    Engine failures and a critical situation during the go-around.

  • What factors contributed to the crew's loss of situational awareness?

    Misinterpretation of glide slope signals and high altitude.

  • How did the crew's split decision impact the flight's trajectory?

    It caused confusion and delayed critical decision-making.

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Summary

00:00

Aviation Accident: Dual Engine Failure and Gear Up Landing

  • A gear up Landing and dual engine failure occurred in one flight, rare emergencies in the airline world.
  • Aircraft are designed to prevent such incidents, making their occurrence surprising.
  • The story of a shocking aviation accident in modern history is about to be revealed.
  • Individual responsibility and professionalism are the foundation of aviation safety.
  • On May 22, 2020, a Pakistan International Airlines crew prepared for a domestic flight during the COVID-19 pandemic and Ramadan.
  • The captain, aged 58, had extensive experience and had faced challenges to join the airline initially.
  • The first officer, 33, had less experience and had received negative feedback during training.
  • The crew, fasting for Ramadan, prepared for the flight with standard procedures.
  • During the flight, the first officer, Pilot Flying, failed to complete the approach briefing.
  • Disregard for standard procedures during descent led to errors in altitude clearance and descent profile calculations.

15:25

"Pilots' Errors Lead to Critical Landing"

  • Pilots encountered a holding pattern in their route due to lack of approach briefing, leading to a need to intercept the ILS quickly for time and fuel efficiency.
  • Manual calculations are crucial for pilots to determine remaining track miles and distance from the landing runway, ensuring proactive decision-making.
  • Aircraft descended towards Karachi, intercepting its calculated path at 141:18:36, adjusting thrust and descent rate accordingly.
  • Communication issues arose as air traffic control attempted to contact the aircraft multiple times, highlighting the crew's oversight in frequency tuning.
  • Crew's failure to remove the holding pattern at Sabon led to miscalculated track miles, indicating the need for manual cross-checking of FMC data.
  • Despite being cleared for a straight-in approach, the crew neglected to adjust altitude settings correctly, resulting in a high altitude situation.
  • Captain's decision to continue the approach without addressing the altitude issue led to a critical situation, exacerbated by the crew's lack of corrective action.
  • Landing gear deployment without proper coordination caused a rapid increase in vertical speed, disregarding the approach controller's suggestions for an orbit to lose altitude.
  • Aircraft's passage through 4,817 ft with a high vertical speed prompted the autopilot to engage altitude mode, unnoticed by the crew, leading to further complications.
  • Misinterpretation of Glide slope signals due to high altitude caused the aircraft to pitch down drastically, deviating from the intended approach path, highlighting the crew's loss of situational awareness.

30:21

Disregarded Instructions Lead to Runway Overshoot

  • The crew received a stern instruction to turn left heading 180° but disregarded it 8 seconds later.
  • The aircraft's speed was 242 knots with a pitch of min 12.6°, leading to over-speed warnings.
  • The autopilot disconnected due to the aircraft's upset attitude, with no warnings called out by the pilots.
  • Ground proximity warnings were triggered due to the descent rate, but the terrain escape maneuver was not initiated.
  • The first officer input nose-up commands, reducing the descent rate, retracting the gear, and retracting the speed brakes.
  • Despite warnings, the crew continued the approach, with the speed hovering at around 235 knots.
  • Flaps were extended to config two and three, activating more master over-speed and red ecam warnings.
  • A split occurred in the cockpit as the first officer suggested an orbit while the captain wanted to continue the approach.
  • The aircraft overshot the runway at over 200 knots with the landing gear retracted, causing engine damage upon touchdown.
  • The crew attempted a go-around after touchdown, with engine failures and high vibrations leading to a critical situation.

45:37

Fatal Crash Due to Engine Failures

  • At 14:36 and 6 seconds, the first officer reduced thrust lever number two to idle, potentially due to an engine fire indication, inadvertently reducing thrust on the only functioning engine.
  • 10 seconds later, both flight data and cockpit voice recorders ceased working as generators failed, activating the ram air turbine to resume the CVR but not the data recorder.
  • The aircraft, with one failed engine and the other in idle, descended from 3,140 ft, experiencing multiple alerts and warnings, including stall warnings and altitude alerts.
  • Despite warnings and alerts, the crew struggled to maintain altitude and speed, with the first officer attempting to reactivate generators and manage engine speeds.
  • By 14:38 and 46 seconds, both engines failed, leaving the aircraft reliant on the ram air turbine, leading to stall warnings and pleas from the first officer to increase speed.
  • The aircraft ultimately crashed into a residential area, resulting in a high number of fatalities, attributed to non-adherence to procedures, fasting pilots, and a lack of CRM, with subsequent revelations of fake licenses among airline pilots.
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