Tuesday, 13th of January, 2004

– Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan Airways Flight 1154, a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Termez Airport (TMJ/UTST), Uzbekistan, to Tashkent Airport (TAS/UTTT), Uzbekistan, operated with a Yakovlev Yak-40, registration UK-87985, experienced a runway excursion while landing and it subsequently struck a radar station, flipped over and caught fire at Tashkent Airport (TAS/UTTT), Uzbekistan.

The aircraft was destroyed during the accident sequence. The five crew members and 32 passengers perished. (37 fatalities)

The crash of Flight 1154 is the third deadliest aviation accident on Uzbekistan’s soil. It is also the sixth worst accident involving the Yakovlev Yak-40.

– Details:

Uzbekistan Airways’ flight HY 1154, the evening flight from Termez to Tashkent, departed Termez with a crew of five and an almost full load (32) of passengers. Weather was poor as the flight approached the airport. After reporting capturing the glideslope the air traffic controller reported a vertical visibility of 60 m and a runway visual range of 1300 m. About 12,5 km out, the aircraft’s rate of descent increased, causing it to descend below the glideslope. The rate of descent was arrested at a height of 170 m, 8 km from the threshold of runway 08L and they continued in level flight. At the Outer Marker (3,5 km from the runway) they should have started their initial approach, but the crew continued level flight thus flying above the glideslope now. With 2,5 km to go the airplane descended slightly at 1-1,5 m/sec. At the Inner Marker the descent rate increased to 2-2,6 m/sec. The crew then probably saw the runway lights below them. The engines were brought back to idle and reverse thrust was applied at a height of 60 m. When it appeared that they would not be able to land given the remaining runway length, reverse thrust was deselected and engine power was increased. At that point the airplane touched down 260 m past the end of the runway. It continued until the right wing struck a concrete building. The plane then lost the left wing before it crashed through a concrete wall. The airplane broke up, crashed into a ditch and caught fire.

– Cause:

” According to the commission of inquiry, the accident with the Yak-40 UK-87985 occurred as a result of a combination of the following factors:

– failure to maintain the set glide path during a landing approach on the ILS curtain-glide system, which could be due to the erroneous setting of the ILS-SP switch to the SP position instead of the ILS position on the Axis-1 on-board cruise-glide system or inattentive execution of the control card before descending from the echelon and after releasing the chassis;

– lack of information from the crew to the dispatcher about the unstable operation of the onboard landing system and the crew’s unrecognition of the possible reasons leading to such indications of the onboard system;

– failure to go-around with the CDF and the crew’s continued approach when the aircraft is in position above the set glide path;

– violation by the crew of the requirements of paragraph 5.2.6.12. Flight Rules for Civil and Experimental Aviation (PPGEA-2000 of the Republic of Uzbekistan), expressed in the continuation of the landing approach and landing production in the absence of visual contact with approach lights or landmarks.”