Investigators in Cote d'Ivoire have concluded that an Antonov An-26 crew continued an approach below minima without making visual contact with the runway before the twin-engined aircraft crashed into the sea off Abidjan. Analysis of the accident indicates that the terrain-warning system had been silenced to avoid nuisance alarms. The approach was conducted "without adequate monitoring" of the aircraft's descent flightpath and, under standard operating procedures, the crew should have executed a go-around, says the inquiry into the 14 October 2017 crash. Three crew members and one of the seven passengers were killed in the accident involving the Moldovan-registered aircraft (ER-AVB), operated by cargo charter carrier Valan. It had been arriving at Abidjan following a service from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. The flight, operating under the identity 'Kondor 26', was being conducted on behalf of French armed forces. Although the crew briefed for an ILS approach to runway 21, this was subsequently changed to a VOR Z approach to runway 03, which requires flying in from the south over the sea. Investigators state that the crew discussed an absence of VOR signal on board, so the captain decided – without informing air traffic control – to use area navigation and GPS for the non-precision approach. The crew was given the weather conditions – reduced visibility and light rain – but the cockpit-voice recorder did not capture evidence of an announcement updating minima. Some 3min after the tower gave landing clearance to the crew, radar contact was lost. Wreckage was subsequently located offshore, the aircraft having crashed into the sea short of the threshold.

Source: FlightGlobal

Southwest Airlines ordered another three Boeing 737 Max simulators from flight training company CAE in the second quarter of 2019, doubling its Max simulator orders ahead of the expected lifting of the Max's global grounding. Simulator company CAE disclosed Southwest's three-unit order on 14 August. The airline has already received, and is now setting up, one 737 Max full-flight simulator, the carrier's vice-president of flight operations Alan Kasher told FlightGlobal last week. Southwest expects that unit will be operational in October. It anticipates having another two Max simulators online early in the first quarter of 2020, followed by the final three in 2021, Kasher said. Other airlines are also acquiring Max simulators following two crashes that prompted the grounding. American Airlines has "one simulator that is in the process of being installed", and United Airlines anticipates receiving its first simulator in the first quarter of 2020, those carriers say. Neither American nor United have said how many additional Max simulators they have on order.

Source: FlightGlobal

Passengers have evacuated a Ural Airlines Airbus A321 which carried out an emergency landing in a field after a severe bird-strike on departure from Moscow. The aircraft had been operating flight U6178 from Moscow's Zhukovsky airport to Simferopol. Upon take-off the aircraft sustained "numerous strikes from birds" to its powerplants, and "made an emergency landing", says the carrier. It came down in a field, apparently a few moments after take-off from runway 12. "The crew and passengers were not injured," adds the airline. Russia's federal Investigative Committee has opened a routine criminal probe into the event, stating that the aircraft made a "hard landing" in a field in the Ramenskoye district. It says an investigative team is organising the necessary actions with the aim of establishing "all the circumstances and causes" of the accident. Images from the scene, showing the A321 in a field of tall crops with evacuation slides deployed from multiple exits, indicate that the aircraft suffered substantial damage to its engines. Zhukovsky's official flight information states that flight U6178 departed for Simferopol at 06:05. Meteorological data from Zhukovsky show that weather conditions were good. Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee has yet to provide further details of the accident.

Source: FlightGlobal