ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A320-231 EY-623 Kulob Airport (TJU)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Sunday 2 February 2014
Time:07:36
Type:Silhouette image of generic A320 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Airbus A320-231
Operator:East Air
Registration: EY-623
MSN: 428
First flight: 1994-01-04 (20 years 1 months)
Total airframe hrs:54604
Cycles:23974
Engines: 2 IAE V2500-A1
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 187
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 194
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:Kulob Airport (TJU) (   Tajikistan)
Phase: Landing (LDG)
Nature:International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Moskva-Domodedovo Airport (DME/UUDD), Russia
Destination airport:Kulob Airport (TJU/UTDK), Tajikistan
Flightnumber:ETJ704
Narrative:
An Airbus A320-231, registration EY-623, sustained substantial damage in a landing accident at Kulob Airport (TJU), Tajikistan.
The aircraft operated as East Air flight ETJ704 from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport to Kulob.
Weather at Kulob was poor due to heavy snowfall. The airport's single runway, 01/19 (3000 m long, 45 m wide), was cleared of snow on the north side. The south side, from the threshold to the middle of the runway, was partly cleared with path of 21 m wide.
On both sides of the path a 50-95 cm high snow berm was present.
During final approach to runway 01 the pilot in command disconnected the autopilot and switched to manual control of the airplane.
The plane landed on runway 01 at a distance of 230 m from the runway threshold, at a speed of 255 km/h. The wheels of the right hand main gear crossed the border the runway at a distance of about 520 m from the threshold and the aircraft continued along the side of the runway. The wheels left main landing gear remained on the runway. At a distance of 710 m from the threshold both engines quit due to ingress of large amounts of snow. The nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane slid until it stopped 1190 m from the beginning of the runway. There was no fire and none of the occupants were injured.

Probable Cause:

CONCLUSION (translation from Russian):
The cause of the accident with the aircraft A320-231 EY-623 was the aircraft collision with a snow berm while landing on an unprepared runway, which was cleared by a width of about 22m (runway width being 45m), and where there were snow berms at a height of 50-95cm along the borders. The aircraft's right main gear contacted a snow berm, which led to the destruction of the nose landing gear and self-termination of engines and the aircraft moving off the runway to the right.
The accident was the result of a combination of the following factors:
- decision by the flight director to receive an aircraft on an unprepared runway;
- the unreadiness of the runway at the time of arrival of the aircraft and the failure to make a corresponding entry in the "Journal of the state of the airfield" with the runway measures.

Accident investigation:

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Investigating agency: MAK Russia
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 years
Accident number: A320 EY-623
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Runway excursion (veer-off)

METAR Weather report:
02:00 UTC / 07:00 local time:
UTDK 020200Z 26003MPS 0800 SN FZFG VV003 M09/M10 Q1031 0129//60 RMK QBB100 QFE715/0953


Photos

photo of Airbus-A320-231-EY-623
accident date: 02-02-2014
type: Airbus A320-231
registration: EY-623
photo of Airbus-A320-231-EY-623
accident date: 02-02-2014
type: Airbus A320-231
registration: EY-623
photo of Airbus-A320-231-EY-623
accident date: 02-02-2014
type: Airbus A320-231
registration: EY-623
photo of Airbus-A320-231-EY-623
accident date: 02-02-2014
type: Airbus A320-231
registration: EY-623
 

Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Moskva-Domodedovo Airport to Kulob Airport as the crow flies is 3041 km (1901 miles).
Accident location: Exact; as reported in the official accident report.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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Airbus A320

  • 4751+ built
  • 27th loss
» safety profile

 Tajikistan
  • 12th worst accident (at the time)
  • 13th worst accident (currently)
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