Accident Airbus A300B2-101 VT-EDV,

ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 325126

Date:	Monday 15 November 1993
Time:	09:25
Type:	Airbus A300B2-101
Owner/operator:	Indian Airlines
Registration:	VT-EDV
MSN:	034
Year of manufacture:	1976
Engine model:	General Electric CF6-50C
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 262
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	26 km from Tirupati Airport (TIR) - India
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Madras Airport (MAA/VOMM)
Destination airport:	Hyderabad-Begumpet Airport (HYD/VOHY)
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The aircraft could not land at Hyderabad due to low visibility and carried out a missed approach. After the missed approach, the crew reported a flap retraction problem and decided to enter a holding pattern overhead at Hyderabad, during which the flight crew enquired visibility at nearby Air Force airfields. Because visibility was low there as well, the aircraft then diverted to Madras. Due to flaps problem, the crew had to maintain low speed and low altitude as a result of which it experienced fuel shortage. The crew then tried to divert to nearby Tirupati. However, the aircraft could not reach even Tirupati airport and executed forced landing in an open paddy field about 14 nautical miles from Tirupati airport. The aircraft dragged on the soft paddy field before coming to final stop.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "(a) The ill-conceived decision of the aircraft's Commander to divert to Madras, without ensuring that adequate fuel was available for reaching there, when he was faced with a flap-jam and poor visibility at Hyderabad. (b) The failure of the aircraft's Commander and his Flight Crew to monitor fuel consumption correctly, and the failure of the Commander to revise his decision accordingly, until it became impossible to reach any airfield. (c) A forced landing due to the eventual shortage of fuel".

Sources:

Civil aviation aircraft accident summary for the year 1993 (DGAC India)

History of this aircraft

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

30 June 1979 VT-EDV Indian Airlines 0 Calcutta Airport (CCU) sub

Runway excursion