Yr after Kingfisher flight skidded on runway,DGCA report pins blame on crew,ATC

In its report,the DGCA says that the crew was not qualified to fly into the Mumbai airport during the shortened runway operations as the commander had not been a ‘training captain’. The crew did not take a decision to ‘go around’,despite an unstabilised approach at the time of landing. It adds that there was a breakdown in the ‘crew resource management’ as the commander —a 47-year-old veteran — did not conduct the correct briefing at Mumbai and Bhavnagar and the 34-year-old co-pilot,who was making her first landing on the shortened runway at Mumbai,did not offer the correct feedback to ‘go around’ at a crucial juncture. It has called on the airline to impart corrective training to the crew. DGCA has also pulled up the ATC for not warning the Kingfisher commander that a previous Air India flight had aquaplaned. Aquaplaning is a phenomenon when there is a thin film of water between the aircraft tyres and the runway,which reduces friction. The report says that the ATC officer had admitted to the DGCA team that he had not understood the word ‘aquaplane’,and not passed on the information to the Kingfisher commander.

“As per DGCA circular for operation on 27A,the pilot in command should have been a training captain and the first officer should have a minimum 300 hours on type. Commander,however,was not meeting this laid down conditions,” the report said.

The report says that the crew should have decided to ‘go around’ when there was an alarm for a ‘high sink rate’ of the aircraft,after the commander made a steep descent at the time of landing.

The touch down point of the aircraft was also late,and it had only 1000 meters left,which was just about enough to stop the aircraft on the runway. “Neither the ATC nor the operating crew of the Kingfisher were aware that the operation was to be suspended under wet runway conditions,” the report said. A Kingfisher spokesperson could not be reached for comment on the report.