Not having a radar on an airport surrounded by mountains is recipe for disaster and stupid. the Nepalese authorities blamed the pilots for error but refused to accept their controllers were completely at fault for not checking on it.
and it happened twice..Thai Airway 311 also slammed into the mountain attempting to land in an airport in Nepal..well, without radar.. and it happened at the same year, 1992.. shocking it took 2 plane crash for some improvement to take place .
I see this a lot with airlines in foreign airspace. That host country puts the blame on the pilots and refuses to accept responsibility, over what appears to be nothing but pride and defiance. Pathetic really.
“Weak self esteem” sounds like a euphemism for a toxic work environment in which the controllers were bullied and/or threatened if they challenged a pilot.
@@geoh7777 I agree that is a cultural thing in Asian societies to question authority/seniors/elders. However, discrimination based of caste is a separate issue. Please do not equate cultural norm with caste issues.They are separate problems.
Radar is expensive, and VNKT is not a major enough airport to warrant that. There are plenty of airports, including in the USA, without radar in mountainous regions. For example, lake Tahoe does not have radar due to the airport being in a valley. It does not make the airport dangerous if proper procedures are followed.
If the ATC had "weak self-esteem" before this accident, how did he live with himself after contributing to this disaster?!? After the pilot stated altitude of 8,200...ATC should have told him he was too low.
u didnt understand the whole picture. they said nepal had poor ATCs in general. its a poor, uneducated country ill-qualified at basically everything. the whole administration structure of nepal is shockingly bad. u cant blame a single person. the route shouldnt have been granted permission to fly at all. the committee that allowed the permission should've been held responsible.
Going into KTM requires descent in stages with specific altitudes at each stage. ATC should have been aware of the altitude deviations (as the PK268 crew went to each step of the descent one stage too early).
"It was discovered that some air controllers in Kathmandu had weak self-esteem and were hesitant to participate in piloting issues such as terrain separation" WTF?
10:12 "The approach charts issued to pilots were unclear" Well, that's a map of the Great Lakes. So if we're using that to land in Nepal, we may have uncovered a part of the issue.
One of the reasons aircraft are now equipped with EGPWS, instead of just GPWS, enhanced with a navigation database combined with the radio-altimeters to "see" the steep terrain ahead, not just the actual AGL of the aircraft.
@@danieldayton3497 Lindbergh never flew jets, he flew planes that couldn't even reach a third of the speed a jet can. Any other silly and regularly debunked questions?
Another apologist, justifier of nonsense. This was sheer incompetence combined with something that is intrinsically lethal. Terminal velocity + sheet metal + sheer mountain side = mega death.
I lost a close friend and several acquaintances on this flight. Remember watching the morning news whilst receiving phone calls confirming that he was lost. There isn’t a single flight that I’ve taken that doesn’t remind me. This was to have been a trip if a lifetime for a group of outdoor pursuits enthusiasts. He is still fondly remembered by colleagues and ex students alike. Outside the college their is a cairn to match the one in Kathmandu.
"Weak self esteem" being used as a substitute for fatal ability to do one's job is something I'll have to remember during my next performance review. "You see, boss, it was due to my weak self esteem."
E Gleaton yes. Old saying: " If you cannot handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. " These clowns who called themselves ATC should have been cleaning toilets (assuming their collective IQ averaged 58 or better, which is doubtful), NOT handling air traffic. Their incompetence caused mass-manslaughter and they are accessories of such.
@@californiadreaming9216 Dude people make mistakes all the time. I’ve watched plenty of these types of reports. There’s a reason why pilot error was listed first, because it was probably determined to be the primary probable cause of the accident. Second off, poor countries typically request assistance from rich countries when it comes to aviation investigations. I can practically guarantee you that the French, Australians, or Americans assisted in this investigation, if not the Indians
This accident was very sad indeed. "Terrain Terrain"!! has got to be a shocking word for any pilot. Love your channel and the respect given. Rest in Peace all 167 souls PIA 268
Sadly, you just CAN'T make a 1,000' mistake in the Himalayas! A step-down into a slam-dunk airport is bad enough, there's just no room for error anywhere around that airport. The "weak esteem" of ground control is NO EXCUSE, especially around Nepal or Kathmandu, so very tragic, RIP to all souls on board.
Absence of radar+non-existent GPWS+controllers lacking self-esteem+problems with the charts+difficult approach=recipe for disaster and my blood running cold. Absolutely heartbreaking.
I wonder what went on in the passenger cabin. How many saw through the window the terrain approaching, how many didn't, if any of the ones who saw it alerted the others about it or barely had time to move themselves out of that initial paralyzing shock in disbelief, etc. One thing seems to be certain. It was a quick one. Even the ones who saw the terrain coming didn't have much time to get desperate. The crash was violent and quick. No suffering.
how funny. i was wondering the exact same thing and then i read your comment. I don’t think they had time to notice much of anything if the pilots didn’t notice it.
@@carewser except for AA587 - it went into a flat spin and took about 60 seconds to fall to the ground. They obvi knew they were going to crash. That one is probably the worst air accident i can think of rn.
Amazing how simply putting your thumb over a part of a chart can cause an accident and this was nearly two months after Thai Airways Flight 311 crashed near the same airport claiming 113 lives. The wreckage of Flight 311 is still at the Langtang National Park where it crashed.
@K A D Y 💋 Stop spamming your disgusting comments underneath some of the videos people watch since no one cares and posting sexual/inappropriate comments aren't allowed on this platform!
@@animegeek2488 but as soon as someone makes a video that's just a tad sexual or whatever, that's a HUGE no no. But youtube themselves can display ads for games that are basically borderline porn lmao.
When a plane is approaching a mountainous area near an airport, it seems everyone involved should be particularly sensitive to altitude readings... double and triple check. I was almost going to ask if this airport should be there at all - but then it dawned on me that hundreds, or maybe thousands, of other flights must have made it safely down. So I guess this was a rare event.
Primary and secondary Radar were installed in Kathmandu Airport (Tribhuvan International Airport) in 1997. However the airport still does not have ILS (Instrument Landing System).
Airliners have crashed because a first officer or flight engineer who recognized a bad situation did not have the nerve to override a captain who was doing something stupid. A flight controller might feel the same reluctance, particularly if they're unsure how much authority they actually have, and that their manager might not back them up. Not everywhere is like the USA, where everyone from the jaded DMV clerk to the teenage barista has an opinion and thinks you need to hear it.
@@danpatterson8009 "HI... I'm a barista with low self esteem because I need a boob job. I've taken this ATC job as part time. Please tell me what you want me to say... and don't cuss.
This reminds me of American Airlines flight 965 which was a Boeing 757 that crashed into a mountain in Colombia while the pilots thought they were on approach to Cali. May all victims RIP. ❤️❤️🙏🙏 Great job as usual.
Wow so tragic, so needless a loss ! The history & progress of Air Safety are truly written in blood ! I pray we all fly safer while gratefully acknowledging our debt to these earlier victims - this crash being 30 years ago now. God Almighty rest the 167 Souls in peace !
I think I saw an episode on the Smithsonian channel called Air disasters about this crash. If I remember correctly the pilot had his thumb over the first altitude level he was suppose to descend to. That made him a step ahead.
@@michelleblackley9770 I think what he meant was, how does the smithsonian know he had his thumb over it? Like they weren’t in the plane when it crashed so how would they know
WWII planes were much smaller, a lot slower and they were flying over flat terrain at low altitude. Flying over the Himalayas in a huge A300 is far more difficult.
@@rebeltvr6046 Are you suggesting that Flying Fortress B-52 was small? You're joking lol flying fortresses carried payloads way above normal passenger weight and massive super bombers that dropped the nuclear weapons on Japan in 1945. Much more difficult to fly back then, that's why hundreds of planes got lost at high altitudes because they had no land to view to see their current location and crashed because of it.
Needn’t be a WW2 aircraft. I suspect these guys didn’t fly a lot of VOR/DME, or TACAN non precision approaches…relied on ground radar controllers to ILS type gig. BUT 4 guys in the cockpit and nobody noticed that the pilot not flying the proper approach?
@@IrishTechnicalThinker Sure, but they made up maybe 1% max of the aircraft in WWII so you're talking about a very small amount...and even then, they flew in a straight line and didn't land as much, had support from other aircraft, and never flew near mountainous regions. It was way easier in WWII than flying an A330 into the biggest mountain range in the world.
Wish that the video was a little slower in moving the text. Hard to keep up when you get a little older as eyes don't move so fast. Tried to pause at each change but screen dims making reading harder. Love the channel as this was just a suggestion for us older pilots
@David, have you looked for the playback speed control? I don’t know which device you’re using but on iOS you bring up the menu by tapping the three dots at the top right. Since there’s no speaking on these, it’s a great solution. You can slow it down to half- or even quarter-speed. (And turn the volume down because the music is annoying when it’s sped up or slowed down.)
Having learnt about this disaster and the previous Thai flight 311 it makes my blood run cold that Kathmandu airport should have been allowed to operate at all and that any airline from any country should have considered landing there. It was badly equipped and staffed by inadequately trained and temperamentally unsuitable ATC. It should have been shut down completely after flight 311.
I agree, but the reality is the human lives have little value and these corporations/banks have planes and tourism to sell, making money is more important. They simply do not care that Nepal is a country in poverty and anyone who travels there gets what they deserve (is there mentality, not mine). They value money, not people. If the IMF loans them the money to build the radar, then it means many more Nepalese will be in extreme poverty, etc. etc. Many people die in this country for very sad reasons simply due to extreme poverty.
Whenever I watch a new video of TheFlightChannel I wonder whether it will be a "pilot error" or "a faulty aircraft", it's always got to be one of those two.
Normally "pilot error" occurs when systems are not working, such as no RADAR at airport, and no GPWS alerts in cockpit, not to mention ATC failing to advise accordingly. So yeah, pilot error I suppose.
I don't think I'll be flying to Nepal anytime in the near or distant future! Thank you for another fantastic episode, TFC! You are the best channel here! You are concise and to the point without being overly dramatic. You make my Thursdays a pleasure! I've flown an A300, to England, back in '09. Absolutely awful plane! So uncomfortable! At least this year, I'll be flying a 330. I understand they're much more comfortable. Plus, I'm splashing out for first class, so I'll even have a bed to sleep in! That's quite swish! I'm spending the summer in England, but I wouldn't dream of missing an episode of your show! I love how educational it is, without beating you over the head with it.
If someone's bad day day has come then the plane can crash in calmest of weather and safest of airport in the world ...that's why don't overthink..and for sure they have improved a lot..and lots of things have surely changed since 1992...and if u can check how many crashes has occurred in past 30 years then u will know how safe it is now ...
@@rossank3419 oh, I'm totally not afraid to fly. I have a pretty pragmatic outlook on that. I just also believe in not tempting fate, either, especially in the Himalayas!
1. Lack of radar....I'm assuming and pretty much hoping Kathmandu airport has it now fixed and covered since it is a popular destination 2. WTAF is low self esteem? Aren't ATC Staff meant to be competent enough to engage in a reasonable dialogue that sees a flight land without complication? 3. Thank goodness and the wider Aviation Industry for the lessons it keeps learning from these 'never incidents' 4. Once again, top notch depiction, top notch description and full marks for the freshness of the video, even though I missed that sad old post accident music . 5. RIP to all those innocent souls on board. And to anyone else who perishes in travel.
I noticed statements in the narrative as, "weak self-esteem of Kathmandu ATC personnel" and “although the pilots reported their altitude accurately to the air traffic control, controllers did nothing to warn them of their inappropriate altitude” but still the final report says, "it was a pilot error".
Seems backwards doesn't it? There was another incident where two pilots ignored their TCAS and they blamed ATC. Go figure. In that one, the Russian authorities justified the family member who murdered the ATC official there, even though that accident was clearly pilot error.
I seen another video involving another airplane crashed in Nepal. Its Thai Airway 311 and there was no ground radar to help them at the airport. They were confused in the thick fog and the ATC was inexprienced plus no radar again. It happened in 31 July 1992. Then this happened few months later, same year. Surprise it took 2 plane crash for some improvement to happen.
It seems crazy that pilots would only be able to fall back on visual aids to determine their location when the instrumentation available to them wasn't adequate to do the job and when their fast-moving aircraft was endangered by mountainous terrain. Surely any (effectively-)'lost' pilot would discontinue the landing sequence procedures and get immediate clearance to climb to a safe height on a course to the nearest 'safe' airport.
@@None-zc5vg The pilots were not lost... they were following the step down descent on the correct course... the problem is they were one step ahead of where they should have been on altitudes. That put them below the required altitudes. Their instrumentation was more than adequate to do their job, but their reading comprehension skills were inadequate to be able to use their instrumentaion. BOTH pilots failed to note the minimum altitude for each waypoint. Aggressive ground controllers could MAYBE have saved them by telling them the were too low when they made their position/altitude report at 10 miles and 8200 feet.
@K A D Y 💋 Stop spamming your disgusting comments underneath some of the videos people watch since no one cares and posting sexual/inappropriate comments aren't allowed on this platform!
Thanks.I was well aware of this crash, I flew into Kathmandu just a few weeks later on a PIA flight, I had already booked and paid for the flight ticket before the crash, I was very nervous, flew into Lukla the next day, so it was a very worrying time. I have since flown into Kathmandu, and Lukla on 4 more occasions, but never flew PIA again.
A common observation is that after doing same things again and again, a point comes where we lose alertness to some extent and start working on guesswork. We do something without required alertness and just expect it would be all fine in the end. Most of us might have experienced the same during a long drive. During initial few hours of the drive we observe keenly, we are alert, our reflexes are responding timely but as we go further, our observation and thinking starts becoming sluggish. Then we would do something just on the basis of guesswork without taking due care and won’t even realizes that we missed something important. It takes a lot of training and peace of mind to develop habit of doing something with proper details and necessary care no matter how many times you have done it before. Guesswork at workplace is always catastrophic unless you are too lucky.
While there is no justification at how the ATC behaved in this accident, I can understand their hesitancy to point-out an error to the pilot. It is considered "offensive" to question or point-out errors to seniors and elders unless absolutely necessary. It is a cultural norm in many Asian countries. This aspect also played an important role in the crash of Korean Air 801 in 1997. Better Crew Resource Management should be taught so that it becomes acceptable for a person to "point-out a wrong decisions" irrespective of hierarchy in their professional sphere of life.
In saying that, there seems to have been very little margin for error here, coupled with the fact, that the GPWS did not alert the crew whatsoever, along with ATC not paying attention, so I'd not just single out 'pilot error', as the sole cause in this case.
The pilots have control of the aircraft -- not experiencing technical problems at the time -- and have the primary responsibility to not try to fly through hard objects. If the controllers were on the ball enough to catch their error, that would have been great, but not to be depended on.
"The approach charts were unclear" in the illustration the pilot is looking at a map of the Great Lakes in the US & Canada, so that's pretty "unclear" for a landing in Nepal.
oh my god i was looking for the video of this crash yesterday, but since you havent uploaded it i have to make do with others. but you uploaded it today?? woww is this destiny jk
This route was surely well-known for this airline and what are the difficulties. That there is a high mountain just in front of the Kathmandu airport. This is very strange that the pilots are not informed about the dangers of this route. Obviously, there was thick fog and they couldn't see that mountain in front of them.
Aviate, navigate, communicate. They aviated but they didn't navigate nor communicate. That's pretty deadly. Similar accidents are United Flight 173, and Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. There was also another accident very similar to this one. Air China Flight 129. It was a Boeing 767-200 that crashed during a landing attempt in South Korea, and it was all because they were also flying too low, and because GPWS didn't alert them as well. The crash also happened in clouds, and on a mountain as well. The older passenger jets, like the 767, are cool, but their technology just isn't up to date.
There was also Indonesian 2012 Sukhoi Superjet 100 accident that was also similar with this one, but this time the pilot is ignoring the EGPWS warnings
Hi, don’t worry! There are newer aircraft operating there and KTM has radar instead of the strips they has back in 1998. Actually, my uncle’s friend was the first officer. (I like watching this story over and over, as I’m interested in aviation.)
9:27 - Weak self-esteem? If those who were on duty were trained,I wonder how they sleep ever since.10:07 - At least dont show another part of the world!
You should do the Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 was stolen from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) in SeaTac, Washington 2018 .. it would be short but it would be interesting to see how that could’ve even happened etc.
Nepalese crash investigators did not blame the air traffic controllers at all. They were supposed to be the pilots' guides and despite correct altitude reporting by the pilots, failed to guide them. I remember this crash vividly though I was only a child when it happened. I had collected dozens of newspaper clips about the ensuing reporting. This was a horrific and avoidable tragedy.
Conclusion: "Going to Nepal is not for the faint hearted people, there's chance of imminent fatality everywhere" (They should put this on also while advertising about tourism in Nepal)
Lord knows the quality of your content is pure Perfection in every sense of the word and 'I dare say' your content has far more attention to detail than NatGeo's AC Investigation. However, I would like to suggest a VoiceOver PLEASE and even more PLEASE Mate. A VoiceOver IMO would make a lot of us watch more and read less in every episode of which I'm sure I speak for the majority of us your loyal viewers. It also helps those amongst us with Special Needs(I'm certain you understand what I mean). TBH there's no other suggestion to improve your content 'ZERO' You're right up there with the best.
One of the main reasons why I'm suggesting a VoiceOver is because of my lovely granny who likes your channel but unfortunately her eyes are always strained her age and even majority of others who have some reconcentration and sight issues too while watching(not just the elderly). One tends to then watch other content that aren't even remotely close to the quality of yours.
Let's see... -Neither PIC nor 1st officer is familiar/experienced with approach at this airport. -Airport has no radar. -Extremely difficult approach. -Bad weather. -GPWS inoperative. -Useless ATC who should be cleaning outhouses, not handling air traffic. This was a freaking disaster waiting to happen. Not even remotely surprising. Illustrates, once again, that more often than not, transportation disasters are not caused by one failing, but rather by a combination of failings.
People who rejects to buckle up their safety belts are the same ones with those who shut down the systems that would protect them just because they were disturbed from warning sounds. GPWS could have saved them.
Honestly, I can't think of ONE accident where GPWS did a damned thing. It seems to only let pilots know they're about to die. Has a single accident actually been avoided due to GPWS/EGPWS?
It must be said that it's the Second- and Third-World airlines, their flight crews, and the airport infrastructure (or not) that plainly appear to provide the most fertile material for this channel's productions. No radar at the receiving airport known for its difficult approach procedures on the best of days Flying the step-down process one step ahead of the proper, published sequence "Weak self esteem" of ATC staff(!?) This is fodder for Amateur Hour. This is what cost 167 people, both innocent and culpable, their lives.
Shouldn't be all pilot error if the charts he was following were not clear or ambiguous, unless you would say he used bad judgment taking that flight assignment. Lack of appropriate input from ATC was another cause. Were the ATC charts correct? W/o radar, shouldn't ATC be paying more attention to the flight information when it changed course close to the mountains to avoid a storm? Never take "PILOT ERROR" as the final word in fatal crashes as nobody is left to defend the pilots.
Thanks for the update! A recommendation to improve is not to use capital letters for all words, since you don’t narrate them, capital letters are hard to read and follow imo.
![[RFS - Real flight simulator] -PIA|Islamabad to Toronto|b747-8I|Full flight|FHD|Real Route](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jvAwLpp_NOs/mqdefault.jpg)
![[RFS - Real flight simulator] -PIA|Islamabad to Toronto|b747-8I|Full flight|FHD|Real Route](/img/tr.png)
Not having a radar on an airport surrounded by mountains is recipe for disaster and stupid. the Nepalese authorities blamed the pilots for error but refused to accept their controllers were completely at fault for not checking on it.
A sad incident!
and it happened twice..Thai Airway 311 also slammed into the mountain attempting to land in an airport in Nepal..well, without radar.. and it happened at the same year, 1992.. shocking it took 2 plane crash for some improvement to take place .
I see this a lot with airlines in foreign airspace. That host country puts the blame on the pilots and refuses to accept responsibility, over what appears to be nothing but pride and defiance. Pathetic really.
@@travelerforever8849 Should I add this accident happened roughly 2 months after Thai Airways Flight 311
foreign to who?@@krognak
“Weak self esteem” sounds like a euphemism for a toxic work environment in which the controllers were bullied and/or threatened if they challenged a pilot.
It is a culture thing in some parts of the world. Like the "unclean" castes of India.
@@geoh7777 Or whatever culture justified leaving those kids in the Sewol ferry when it was obviously sinking.
@@geoh7777 I agree that is a cultural thing in Asian societies to question authority/seniors/elders. However, discrimination based of caste is a separate issue. Please do not equate cultural norm with caste issues.They are separate problems.
Agreed. Even though the situation is improving, professional bullying is still present in many Asian countries.
Yep
Not having a radar at a mountainous airport is a recipe for disaster
That’s putting it mildly. It strikes me as a breathtakingly bizarre situation that is unfathomable and unacceptable.
@@sajjadhusain4146 of course! I was shocked to know that the airport did not have a radar!
and it isnt even a mountainous airport, its THE mountainous airport
Radar is expensive, and VNKT is not a major enough airport to warrant that. There are plenty of airports, including in the USA, without radar in mountainous regions. For example, lake Tahoe does not have radar due to the airport being in a valley. It does not make the airport dangerous if proper procedures are followed.
@@scottfranco1962 it is the capital of a country. Of course it's a major airport.
If the ATC had "weak self-esteem" before this accident, how did he live with himself after contributing to this disaster?!? After the pilot stated altitude of 8,200...ATC should have told him he was too low.
Exactly!! I can’t believe they put all the blame on the pilots.
u didnt understand the whole picture. they said nepal had poor ATCs in general. its a poor, uneducated country ill-qualified at basically everything. the whole administration structure of nepal is shockingly bad. u cant blame a single person. the route shouldnt have been granted permission to fly at all. the committee that allowed the permission should've been held responsible.
Your analysis is the most logical of any here.
@@1981amillia very convenient right KQ... unreal.
Going into KTM requires descent in stages with specific altitudes at each stage. ATC should have been aware of the altitude deviations (as the PK268 crew went to each step of the descent one stage too early).
"It was discovered that some air controllers in Kathmandu had weak self-esteem and were hesitant to participate in piloting issues such as terrain separation" WTF?
I thought the same thing!!! WTH is going on here 🤨
Well, they didn't have radar, and in case for Thai airways flight that crashed in the same area earlier, was also very green
Third world shitshow, typical trashy setup and attitudes.
@@crashstitches79 Well that's a pretty trashy name you've chosen for yourself.
In other words they were too scared to speak up. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
10:12 "The approach charts issued to pilots were unclear" Well, that's a map of the Great Lakes. So if we're using that to land in Nepal, we may have uncovered a part of the issue.
One of the reasons aircraft are now equipped with EGPWS, instead of just GPWS, enhanced with a navigation database combined with the radio-altimeters to "see" the steep terrain ahead, not just the actual AGL of the aircraft.
How ‘bout just flying like Lindbergh did?
@@danieldayton3497 😮 and crash like it did? 🤔
Oh you're smart 🤓
@@danieldayton3497 Lindbergh never flew jets, he flew planes that couldn't even reach a third of the speed a jet can. Any other silly and regularly debunked questions?
Another apologist, justifier of nonsense. This was sheer incompetence combined with something that is intrinsically lethal. Terminal velocity + sheet metal + sheer mountain side = mega death.
I lost a close friend and several acquaintances on this flight. Remember watching the morning news whilst receiving phone calls confirming that he was lost. There isn’t a single flight that I’ve taken that doesn’t remind me. This was to have been a trip if a lifetime for a group of outdoor pursuits enthusiasts. He is still fondly remembered by colleagues and ex students alike. Outside the college their is a cairn to match the one in Kathmandu.
Steven - This report must be heartbreaking for you, and those, who had friends and family on this flight- sending warm thoughts your way.
"Weak self esteem" being used as a substitute for fatal ability to do one's job is something I'll have to remember during my next performance review. "You see, boss, it was due to my weak self esteem."
Well it is a human factor
E Gleaton yes. Old saying: " If you cannot handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. "
These clowns who called themselves ATC should have been cleaning toilets (assuming their collective IQ averaged 58 or better, which is doubtful), NOT handling air traffic. Their incompetence caused mass-manslaughter and they are accessories of such.
@@californiadreaming9216 Dude people make mistakes all the time. I’ve watched plenty of these types of reports. There’s a reason why pilot error was listed first, because it was probably determined to be the primary probable cause of the accident. Second off, poor countries typically request assistance from rich countries when it comes to aviation investigations. I can practically guarantee you that the French, Australians, or Americans assisted in this investigation, if not the Indians
@@californiadreaming9216 Upon literally a 10 second search it was the British who conducted the investigation
@@californiadreaming9216 And the black box was sent to Paris for decoding
Aircraft crashes into a moutain: Investigators conclude it was flying too low.
They're good!
😒
This accident was very sad indeed. "Terrain Terrain"!! has got to be a shocking word for any pilot. Love your channel and the respect given. Rest in Peace all 167 souls PIA 268
The might have had a chance had they heard that. But they didn't.
@@andrewphillips6563 at 9:43 but maybe they did not hear the warning due to system and or proximity to the mountains.
"Traffic traffic!" is another unpleasant one.
@@cattinkerbell4946 so is "bank angle! bank angle!"
@@adotintheshark4848 STALL
Sadly, you just CAN'T make a 1,000' mistake in the Himalayas! A step-down into a slam-dunk airport is bad enough, there's just no room for error anywhere around that airport. The "weak esteem" of ground control is NO EXCUSE, especially around Nepal or Kathmandu, so very tragic, RIP to all souls on board.
Absence of radar+non-existent GPWS+controllers lacking self-esteem+problems with the charts+difficult approach=recipe for disaster and my blood running cold. Absolutely heartbreaking.
Iftikhar janjua's son , Saleh janjua died also near Islamabad in 2016 while flying an ATR 42 operating flight PK661
I wonder what went on in the passenger cabin. How many saw through the window the terrain approaching, how many didn't, if any of the ones who saw it alerted the others about it or barely had time to move themselves out of that initial paralyzing shock in disbelief, etc. One thing seems to be certain. It was a quick one. Even the ones who saw the terrain coming didn't have much time to get desperate. The crash was violent and quick. No suffering.
I doubt any of the passengers saw it coming, due to the clouds. Even the pilots didn’t try to pull up in the last few seconds before the crash.
@GaslitWorld f. Melissa B THE AIRport didnt have a radar so the atc couldnt even tell where the plane was going
That's the one good thing about horrific plane crashes, there's little if any suffering as everyone dies instantly
how funny. i was wondering the exact same thing and then i read your comment. I don’t think they had time to notice much of anything if the pilots didn’t notice it.
@@carewser except for AA587 - it went into a flat spin and took about 60 seconds to fall to the ground. They obvi knew they were going to crash. That one is probably the worst air accident i can think of rn.
Mountains, mountains everywhere. It just seems inevitable that these crashes will happen.
Amazing how simply putting your thumb over a part of a chart can cause an accident and this was nearly two months after Thai Airways Flight 311 crashed near the same airport claiming 113 lives. The wreckage of Flight 311 is still at the Langtang National Park where it crashed.
@K A D Y 💋 Stop spamming your disgusting comments underneath some of the videos people watch since no one cares and posting sexual/inappropriate comments aren't allowed on this platform!
@@animegeek2488 it’s not a person, its not going to read your comment, it’s a bot. Report the profile that’s the only worthwhile thing you can do
@@Vonononie RUclips doesn't do anything about these kinds of bots no matter how many people report them!
@DEZZNUTZ 1001 RUclips doesn't do anything when it comes to anything that is spam related whatsoever.
@@animegeek2488 but as soon as someone makes a video that's just a tad sexual or whatever, that's a HUGE no no. But youtube themselves can display ads for games that are basically borderline porn lmao.
When a plane is approaching a mountainous area near an airport, it seems everyone involved should be particularly sensitive to altitude readings... double and triple check. I was almost going to ask if this airport should be there at all - but then it dawned on me that hundreds, or maybe thousands, of other flights must have made it safely down. So I guess this was a rare event.
No radar at such a mountainous location is ludicrous, and a disaster just waiting to happen.
And actually it did few months earlier when a Thai airways flight crashed in the area
Primary and secondary Radar were installed in Kathmandu Airport (Tribhuvan International Airport) in 1997. However the airport still does not have ILS (Instrument Landing System).
A well-produced video as usual, TFC. Keep up the good work.
First time I've heard of an accident causality include "low self-esteem". Huh?
Airliners have crashed because a first officer or flight engineer who recognized a bad situation did not have the nerve to override a captain who was doing something stupid. A flight controller might feel the same reluctance, particularly if they're unsure how much authority they actually have, and that their manager might not back them up. Not everywhere is like the USA, where everyone from the jaded DMV clerk to the teenage barista has an opinion and thinks you need to hear it.
the first time that phrase was used - there are other ways of putting it - and they were mentioned in the other videos
@@danpatterson8009 "HI... I'm a barista with low self esteem because I need a boob job. I've taken this ATC job as part time. Please tell me what you want me to say... and don't cuss.
This reminds me of American Airlines flight 965 which was a Boeing 757 that crashed into a mountain in Colombia while the pilots thought they were on approach to Cali. May all victims RIP. ❤️❤️🙏🙏
Great job as usual.
Wow so tragic, so needless a loss !
The history & progress of Air Safety are truly written in blood !
I pray we all fly safer while gratefully acknowledging our debt to these earlier victims - this crash being 30 years ago now.
God Almighty rest the 167 Souls in peace !
Would have been better to pray to your God almighty before those poor souls lost their lives!
Out of interest what is the music that begins at 8:44
One of my favorite channels!! Keep up the great work!! 😎👊🤙
I think I saw an episode on the Smithsonian channel called Air disasters about this crash. If I remember correctly the pilot had his thumb over the first altitude level he was suppose to descend to. That made him a step ahead.
Really? Did he tell you that after the crash?
Saw the show, one step ahead...
@@kenhodge6165 did I not explain myself good enough??
@@michelleblackley9770 I think what he meant was, how does the smithsonian know he had his thumb over it? Like they weren’t in the plane when it crashed so how would they know
This highlights how brilliant World War Two pilots truly were, nothing but basic flight instruments and everything was manually operated.
WWII planes were much smaller, a lot slower and they were flying over flat terrain at low altitude. Flying over the Himalayas in a huge A300 is far more difficult.
@@rebeltvr6046 Are you suggesting that Flying Fortress B-52 was small? You're joking lol flying fortresses carried payloads way above normal passenger weight and massive super bombers that dropped the nuclear weapons on Japan in 1945. Much more difficult to fly back then, that's why hundreds of planes got lost at high altitudes because they had no land to view to see their current location and crashed because of it.
Needn’t be a WW2 aircraft. I suspect these guys didn’t fly a lot of VOR/DME, or TACAN non precision approaches…relied on ground radar controllers to ILS type gig. BUT 4 guys in the cockpit and nobody noticed that the pilot not flying the proper approach?
@@IrishTechnicalThinker Sure, but they made up maybe 1% max of the aircraft in WWII so you're talking about a very small amount...and even then, they flew in a straight line and didn't land as much, had support from other aircraft, and never flew near mountainous regions. It was way easier in WWII than flying an A330 into the biggest mountain range in the world.
@@dullonion797 Absolutely. Add on pilot incompetency and ……?
Wish that the video was a little slower in moving the text. Hard to keep up when you get a little older as eyes don't move so fast. Tried to pause at each change but screen dims making reading harder. Love the channel as this was just a suggestion for us older pilots
@David, have you looked for the playback speed control? I don’t know which device you’re using but on iOS you bring up the menu by tapping the three dots at the top right. Since there’s no speaking on these, it’s a great solution. You can slow it down to half- or even quarter-speed. (And turn the volume down because the music is annoying when it’s sped up or slowed down.)
@@drkatel
Will try that out. I am not electronic savy as our generation even had to use the Sanderson E6 when working on cross country. Thank you.
Poor self esteem? Aww, I hope they get some coaching to give them confidence to keep airplanes from crashing.🤦
"Hi... Air Traffic Control here...ahh, could you please tell me what you want me to say? I'm shy and adjusting."
Weak Self-Esteem? WTF is that?
The music you use is so chilling, sombering. Very good.
Having learnt about this disaster and the previous Thai flight 311 it makes my blood run cold that Kathmandu airport should have been allowed to operate at all and that any airline from any country should have considered landing there. It was badly equipped and staffed by inadequately trained and temperamentally unsuitable ATC. It should have been shut down completely after flight 311.
I agree, but the reality is the human lives have little value and these corporations/banks have planes and tourism to sell, making money is more important. They simply do not care that Nepal is a country in poverty and anyone who travels there gets what they deserve (is there mentality, not mine). They value money, not people. If the IMF loans them the money to build the radar, then it means many more Nepalese will be in extreme poverty, etc. etc. Many people die in this country for very sad reasons simply due to extreme poverty.
Whenever I watch a new video of TheFlightChannel I wonder whether it will be a "pilot error" or "a faulty aircraft", it's always got to be one of those two.
Normally "pilot error" occurs when systems are not working,
such as no RADAR at airport, and no GPWS alerts in cockpit,
not to mention ATC failing to advise accordingly.
So yeah, pilot error I suppose.
And thats deceptive. Mostly it is the ATCs that fuck things up and go scott free and the blame comes on the pilots.
I suppose there are some pilots who have so many flight hours, they get comfortable and complacent.
I don't think I'll be flying to Nepal anytime in the near or distant future! Thank you for another fantastic episode, TFC! You are the best channel here! You are concise and to the point without being overly dramatic. You make my Thursdays a pleasure!
I've flown an A300, to England, back in '09. Absolutely awful plane! So uncomfortable! At least this year, I'll be flying a 330. I understand they're much more comfortable. Plus, I'm splashing out for first class, so I'll even have a bed to sleep in! That's quite swish! I'm spending the summer in England, but I wouldn't dream of missing an episode of your show! I love how educational it is, without beating you over the head with it.
To be fair I'm sure they've improved things a lot in 30 years
@@future62 I certainly hope so, but because of where Kathmandu is located, it creeps me out roya,royally,. Have they ever gotten radar?
@@ecclestonsangel For sure they must have equipped that after 2 crashes within 2 months at the same place.
If someone's bad day day has come then the plane can crash in calmest of weather and safest of airport in the world ...that's why don't overthink..and for sure they have improved a lot..and lots of things have surely changed since 1992...and if u can check how many crashes has occurred in past 30 years then u will know how safe it is now ...
@@rossank3419 oh, I'm totally not afraid to fly. I have a pretty pragmatic outlook on that. I just also believe in not tempting fate, either, especially in the Himalayas!
1. Lack of radar....I'm assuming and pretty much hoping Kathmandu airport has it now fixed and covered since it is a popular destination
2. WTAF is low self esteem? Aren't ATC Staff meant to be competent enough to engage in a reasonable dialogue that sees a flight land without complication?
3. Thank goodness and the wider Aviation Industry for the lessons it keeps learning from these 'never incidents'
4. Once again, top notch depiction, top notch description and full marks for the freshness of the video, even though I missed that sad old post accident music .
5. RIP to all those innocent souls on board. And to anyone else who perishes in travel.
Waiting for the flight Chanel's video of recent air crash of yeti airlines in Nepal
I was waiting for this video !! Thank You !! I am from Kathmandu, Nepal where the Airbus A300 Crashed, RIP All the people on board.
I noticed statements in the narrative as, "weak self-esteem of Kathmandu ATC personnel" and “although the pilots reported their altitude accurately to the air traffic control, controllers did nothing to warn them of their inappropriate altitude” but still the final report says, "it was a pilot error".
Seems backwards doesn't it? There was another incident where two pilots ignored their TCAS and they blamed ATC. Go figure. In that one, the Russian authorities justified the family member who murdered the ATC official there, even though that accident was clearly pilot error.
I think it's not pilot eror it's third class kath mandu airport which cause disaster
I seen another video involving another airplane crashed in Nepal. Its Thai Airway 311 and there was no ground radar to help them at the airport. They were confused in the thick fog and the ATC was inexprienced plus no radar again. It happened in 31 July 1992. Then this happened few months later, same year. Surprise it took 2 plane crash for some improvement to happen.
It seems crazy that pilots would only be able to fall back on visual aids to determine their location when the instrumentation available to them wasn't adequate to do the job and when their fast-moving aircraft was endangered by mountainous terrain. Surely any (effectively-)'lost' pilot would discontinue the landing sequence procedures and get immediate clearance to climb to a safe height on a course to the nearest 'safe' airport.
@@None-zc5vg The pilots were not lost... they were following the step down descent on the correct course... the problem is they were one step ahead of where they should have been on altitudes. That put them below the required altitudes. Their instrumentation was more than adequate to do their job, but their reading comprehension skills were inadequate to be able to use their instrumentaion. BOTH pilots failed to note the minimum altitude for each waypoint.
Aggressive ground controllers could MAYBE have saved them by telling them the were too low when they made their position/altitude report at 10 miles and 8200 feet.
Theflightchannel is a kind of mood
Top notch quality as always!
@K A D Y 💋 Stop spamming your disgusting comments underneath some of the videos people watch since no one cares and posting sexual/inappropriate comments aren't allowed on this platform!
@@animegeek2488 You are getting mad at a bot, it's not a real person you weirdo. Flag it for spam and keep it moving.
Flying VOR/DME in a mountaineous terrain ain't child's play. These pilots learnt it the hard way,.
I suppose the only "good" thing was the passengers had no idea what was happening.
This is the one which I was requesting for months to create. Thank You Very Much. ❤️❤️
Another massive balls-up that was easily avoidable.
Thanks.I was well aware of this crash, I flew into Kathmandu just a few weeks later on a PIA flight, I had already booked and paid for the flight ticket before the crash, I was very nervous, flew into Lukla the next day, so it was a very worrying time.
I have since flown into Kathmandu, and Lukla on 4 more occasions, but never flew PIA again.
I am so old that when I flew PIA, they had never lost a passenger due to air accident and accordingly had a reassuring safety record.
Very disappointing that today 15/1/23 another disaster happened in Nepal, may God bless the souls 😔
Thank you TheFlightChannel.✔✈
A common observation is that after doing same things again and again, a point comes where we lose alertness to some extent and start working on guesswork. We do something without required alertness and just expect it would be all fine in the end. Most of us might have experienced the same during a long drive. During initial few hours of the drive we observe keenly, we are alert, our reflexes are responding timely but as we go further, our observation and thinking starts becoming sluggish. Then we would do something just on the basis of guesswork without taking due care and won’t even realizes that we missed something important.
It takes a lot of training and peace of mind to develop habit of doing something with proper details and necessary care no matter how many times you have done it before. Guesswork at workplace is always catastrophic unless you are too lucky.
While there is no justification at how the ATC behaved in this accident, I can understand their hesitancy to point-out an error to the pilot.
It is considered "offensive" to question or point-out errors to seniors and elders unless absolutely necessary. It is a cultural norm in many Asian countries.
This aspect also played an important role in the crash of Korean Air 801 in 1997. Better Crew Resource Management should be taught so that it becomes acceptable for a person to "point-out a wrong decisions" irrespective of hierarchy in their professional sphere of life.
This is awesome, thanks for uploading every week as it is worth it!
Just a small mistake can claim the lives of so many people
So once "finally getting out of this place", "going to Kathmandu", is tricky.
i tell you, i LIVE for these videos!
1000 ft is still not enough clearance for comfort
I was thinking the same thing, especially if I was flying PIA! I’d like a good 5K between my seat and the mountaintop.
In saying that, there seems to have been very little margin for error here, coupled with the fact, that the GPWS did not alert the crew whatsoever, along with ATC not paying attention, so I'd not just single out 'pilot error', as the sole cause in this case.
The pilots have control of the aircraft -- not experiencing technical problems at the time -- and have the primary responsibility to not try to fly through hard objects. If the controllers were on the ball enough to catch their error, that would have been great, but not to be depended on.
"The approach charts were unclear" in the illustration the pilot is looking at a map of the Great Lakes in the US & Canada, so that's pretty "unclear" for a landing in Nepal.
How about recommending getting atc WITH self esteem!!! Jeez this is brutal considering there were 4 experienced airmen in the cockpit 😮
They are (or rather, were) not trained to speak up and correct a captain. Hopefully this changed after this accident.
oh my god i was looking for the video of this crash yesterday, but since you havent uploaded it i have to make do with others. but you uploaded it today?? woww is this destiny jk
Well done the video was great. Good structure and good text. Very sad for the lives lost in thr accident.
This route was surely well-known for this airline and what are the difficulties. That there is a high mountain just in front of the Kathmandu airport. This is very strange that the pilots are not informed about the dangers of this route. Obviously, there was thick fog and they couldn't see that mountain in front of them.
I was waiting for this. Great video.
Was waiting for this one!
Still not leaving the 'In memory' caption up long enough to read. Otherwise excellent as always.
Another great vid. Well done.
wtf is a vid?
1992 was a bad year for Nepal and the Tribhuvan International Airport. 2 Major accidents in less than 3 months.
Aviate, navigate, communicate. They aviated but they didn't navigate nor communicate. That's pretty deadly.
Similar accidents are United Flight 173, and Eastern Air Lines Flight 401.
There was also another accident very similar to this one. Air China Flight 129. It was a Boeing 767-200 that crashed during a landing attempt in South Korea, and it was all because they were also flying too low, and because GPWS didn't alert them as well. The crash also happened in clouds, and on a mountain as well. The older passenger jets, like the 767, are cool, but their technology just isn't up to date.
There was also Indonesian 2012 Sukhoi Superjet 100 accident that was also similar with this one, but this time the pilot is ignoring the EGPWS warnings
Thank you for another well done video!
No flight disaster god every life should be saved. We all love to travel a lot.
Nah, there are a few lives we can afford to lose
Thanks for the new video.
Like the 777 that crashed at San Francisco,came in too low and copilot is not allowed to challenge pilot due to country’s customs.
Great. I'm flying into KTM in 3 weeks. I'll have this video on loop on final.
Hi, don’t worry! There are newer aircraft operating there and KTM has radar instead of the strips they has back in 1998. Actually, my uncle’s friend was the first officer. (I like watching this story over and over, as I’m interested in aviation.)
It must be rough on the ground crew who actually saw the faces of those on board the aircraft.
Aviator, or not, The lessons & wisdom I gather from your work is life changing! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Disturbingly beautiful graphics from the new 2020 Flight Simulator. And good work as ever.
9:27 - Weak self-esteem? If those who were on duty were trained,I wonder how they sleep ever since.10:07 - At least dont show another part of the world!
Epic, posted on my birthday,
167 people tragically lost because of a thumb on the wrong place on the chart. RIP.
remember they altered course around a storm . so they were looking out the window . but didn't know the terrain .
You should do the Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 was stolen from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) in SeaTac, Washington 2018 .. it would be short but it would be interesting to see how that could’ve even happened etc.
It's on his channel already
Nepalese crash investigators did not blame the air traffic controllers at all. They were supposed to be the pilots' guides and despite correct altitude reporting by the pilots, failed to guide them.
I remember this crash vividly though I was only a child when it happened. I had collected dozens of newspaper clips about the ensuing reporting. This was a horrific and avoidable tragedy.
I was also working for PIA and missing my colleagues, that crew was well experienced, specially the cockpit crew,
Conclusion: "Going to Nepal is not for the faint hearted people, there's chance of imminent fatality everywhere" (They should put this on also while advertising about tourism in Nepal)
Could be a 4-6 minute video. Would be better and less tedious
How do you get those subtle camera movements?
Lord knows the quality of your content is pure Perfection in every sense of the word and 'I dare say' your content has far more attention to detail than NatGeo's AC Investigation. However, I would like to suggest a VoiceOver PLEASE and even more PLEASE Mate. A VoiceOver IMO would make a lot of us watch more and read less in every episode of which I'm sure I speak for the majority of us your loyal viewers. It also helps those amongst us with Special Needs(I'm certain you understand what I mean). TBH there's no other suggestion to improve your content 'ZERO' You're right up there with the best.
One of the main reasons why I'm suggesting a VoiceOver is because of my lovely granny who likes your channel but unfortunately her eyes are always strained her age and even majority of others who have some reconcentration and sight issues too while watching(not just the elderly). One tends to then watch other content that aren't even remotely close to the quality of yours.
I love this channel
Let's see...
-Neither PIC nor 1st officer is familiar/experienced with approach at this airport.
-Airport has no radar.
-Extremely difficult approach.
-Bad weather.
-GPWS inoperative.
-Useless ATC who should be cleaning outhouses, not handling air traffic.
This was a freaking disaster waiting to happen. Not even remotely surprising.
Illustrates, once again, that more often than not, transportation disasters are not caused by one failing, but rather by a combination of failings.
People who rejects to buckle up their safety belts are the same ones with those who shut down the systems that would protect them just because they were disturbed from warning sounds. GPWS could have saved them.
Wear your mask ok
@@graciegjj lmao what
@@Bankable2790 😷 mask up or else I've got a baton with your name on it... 🏓🏏
Honestly, I can't think of ONE accident where GPWS did a damned thing. It seems to only let pilots know they're about to die. Has a single accident actually been avoided due to GPWS/EGPWS?
@@NickDalzell maybe EGPWS
1:00 nice time traveling 777 PIA.
Wrong livery too, from a later time.
It must be said that it's the Second- and Third-World airlines, their flight crews, and the airport infrastructure (or not) that plainly appear to provide the most fertile material for this channel's productions.
No radar at the receiving airport known for its difficult approach procedures on the best of days
Flying the step-down process one step ahead of the proper, published sequence
"Weak self esteem" of ATC staff(!?)
This is fodder for Amateur Hour. This is what cost 167 people, both innocent and culpable, their lives.
Shouldn't be all pilot error if the charts he was following were not clear or ambiguous, unless you would say he used bad judgment taking that flight assignment. Lack of appropriate input from ATC was another cause. Were the ATC charts correct? W/o radar, shouldn't ATC be paying more attention to the flight information when it changed course close to the mountains to avoid a storm? Never take "PILOT ERROR" as the final word in fatal crashes as nobody is left to defend the pilots.
I've flown my entire life and won't be happy til I fly into Lukla.
New video nice editing but nothing in community tab why
So you ask questions.
What game is this I am an airplane lover to I love your work keep it up❤❤
This shows that even the little things matter.😢
Thanks for the update! A recommendation to improve is not to use capital letters for all words, since you don’t narrate them, capital letters are hard to read and follow imo.
The solution is very simple. The airport should have a radar.
I suspect this is the second Lukla disaster RUclips has for me today 🤔
An A300, I was wrong 😂