Concerns about weather forecasting expressed in An-24 crash landing in the Ukraine

Published: 8/23/1999

There have been two recent reports of emergency landings by passenger aircraft in the Ukraine. On August 18th 1999, an An-24 operated by National Airlines of Ukraine left Varna, Bulgaria for Kiev, following a 30 minute delay. The flight was normal, until the aircraft started to descend for the landing approach, when it hit strong turbulence. Following touchdown, despite the efforts of the crew, the strong winds forced the aircraft off the runway to the left, where it continued for a short distance, before coming to a halt. Officials were reluctant to answer questions raised on the circumstances surrounding the incident, such as whether the meteorological reports were accurate, why the ATC did not make An-24 fly to another airport, and whether errors had been made by the crew. One official insisted that it was a Yak-40 that had flown from Varna, without incident, and that any mishap was a media invention. However, Igor Kulikovsky, First Director General of National Airlines of Ukraine, made the following statement: “Our An-24 was landing in difficult weather conditions. Even on the glide path, nothing suggested any changes, but during the landing… a wind "shift" occurred... A tailwind thrust appeared, and the aircraft had to land with a slight "overshoot"... A strong turbulence and a thundery front made an impact... If the runway had been a bit longer, there would have been enough length... As a manager, I think that the chief pilot, Serguey Priysky, acted very professionally." Kulikovsky considers that the meteorological service had not forecast incorrectly, as the strongest gusts of wind were unexpected. It is interesting that, prior to this latest incident, the Ministry of Emergency Situations held large-scale exercises in the Crimea, to practise rescue operations of crashed aircraft. Nikolay Masharovsky, head of the centre of rescue aviation operations at the ministry, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine that "non-standard" situations with aircraft occur in Ukraine almost weekly. On August 9th 1999, it was reported that a Boeing 737, operated by British Airways, had to made an emergency landing at Borispol airport. According to the Moscow press, the aircraft was making a regular Borispol-London flight, when the crew spotted an “engine fire” warning and sent a mayday radio message. All airport services were on standby, ready for an emergency, including three helicopters. The jet landed successfully. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Article ID: 778