Bhoja Air Flight 213 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight operated by Pakistani private airline Bhoja Air from Karachi to Islamabad. On 20 April 2012, the Boeing 737-200 aircraft serving the route crashed in bad weather during the final approach, killing all 121 passengers and 6 crew on board. It remains the second deadliest air disaster in Pakistan, after the 2010 crash of Airblue Flight 202.
The crash was caused by the crew's inadequate flight management during adverse weather conditions. The flight crew were not trained adequately and properly on the automated system of the Boeing 737-236A, a more advanced version of the Boeing 737-200 series, and didn't retain sufficient knowledge on the correct procedures for handling an aircraft in bad weather conditions. Additionally, Bhoja Air's lack of oversight and multiple errors within Pakistan CAA's monitoring system of Pakistani airliners further contributed to the accident.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-236, registered AP-BKC, with the manufacturer serial number 23167. The aircraft had accumulated 46,933 flight hours, of which 69 were with Bhoja Air. The aircraft was powered by 2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15A Turbofan engines.
The last inspection was carried out on the same day of the accident, prior to its departure. No known defects were recorded.
Accident
The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled flight from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, to Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, which was the airline's first evening flight in almost 12 years. It was the inaugural flight of Bhoja Air's second daily service on this route (Bhoja Air was earlier closed down amidst financial difficulties in the year 2000, but restarted operations in March 2012). There were six crew and 121 passengers on board. The flight departed from Karachi at 17:05 PST (12:00 UTC) and was due to land at Islamabad at 18:50 (13:50 UTC). The flight was piloted by Captain Noorullah Afridi (58) and First Officer Javaid Malik (53). The flight was uneventful until its approach to Islamabad.
Approach
While approaching Islamabad, Lahore automatic terminal information service (ATIS) broadcast the weather information in and around Lahore, including the Islamabad area. The broadcast stated that clouds and thunder were present in Islamabad, and a dust storm warning was issued around the Lahore area. First Officer Malik asked the Captain on whether they should divert to Peshawar, but Captain Afridi refused, stating that "God will help us". Approximately a minute later, he noticed that a squall line had formed in the area. He started to become pre-occupied with the weather. First Officer Malik gave multiple information regarding the weather condition, but due to the pre-occupied state of Captain Afridi, he ignored them all.
Air Traffic Control in Lahore cleared Flight 213 to descend. The seatbelt sign was turned on due to possible turbulence, and the crew decided to discuss the weather again. Following the discussion, Captain Afridi finally decided that the flight must land at Islamabad, regardless of the weather conditions. As Flight 213 became closer to the squall line, Captain Afridi became increasingly worried. Subsequently, he increased the airspeed to 280 knots (520 km/h; 320 mph). First Officer Malik then stated that the plane would enter the squall line. Meanwhile, the aircraft began to experience turbulence.
Captain Afridi contacted Islamabad ATC, and asked on whether there was a gap between the squall line, as he intended to penetrate it from the west side. The controller in Islamabad initially answered that there was no gap between the line, but then a very small gap was observed in the south. Captain Afridi responded that they would try to penetrate through the line. The pilots told the cabin crew to ask the passengers to occupy their seats as the turbulence began to intensify. First Officer Malik later suggested that they should go towards the right (east) to avoid the storm system, but Captain Afridi refused, insisting that they should land at Islamabad.
Flight 213 descended through 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and levelled off at 5,500 feet (1,700 m). Even though no formal approach briefing had taken place, First Officer Malik stated that the aircraft's approach preparation had been set. The autopilot and auto-throttle were engaged and the aircraft was cleared to descend further. Islamabad ATC then gave another weather update to the crew, stating that there was light drizzle in Islamabad, with gusts up to 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), which was acknowledged by the crew. Captain Afridi stated that the squall line had arrived in Islamabad and that they would be flying very close to it. A few minutes later, he noticed that the sky suddenly had become dark, meaning that Flight 213 was entering the squall line.
The aircraft continued its descent. After being cleared by ATC for an ILS approach to runway 30, the crew configured the aircraft for landing. The flaps, slats and the landing gear were extended and the aircraft started to turn after its lateral navigation was engaged in the "selected mode", which was later deactivated by Captain Afridi during the middle of the turn. First Officer Malik then stated that the airspeed was at 220 knots (410 km/h; 250 mph), which was met with surprise from the Captain. A few seconds later, rain began to pound the aircraft, further startling Captain Afridi.
Captain Afridi became extremely pre-occupied with the changing flight parameters and the effect of the adverse weather conditions to the aircraft. Meanwhile, First Officer Malik seemed to be ignorant about the matter. Instead of recommending a missed approach, the first officer continued to carry out cockpit checks. Flight 213 then levelled off at 3,600 feet (1,100 m) and the autopilot captured the glideslope. With a bank angle of approximately 5 to 20 degrees to the right, the aircraft entered its final approach phase and the crew put the aircraft into a descent.
First downdraft
The rain rapidly intensified, pounding the aircraft at an extreme rate. The aircraft was struck by a downdraft and because of it, the pitch started to increase. As the autopilot tried to maintain the glideslope, the airspeed decayed. The thrust was increased-albeit not sufficiently. The GPWS alarm blared, alerting the crew about the presence of windshear. Captain Afridi yelled "no! no!" and First Officer Malik asked the captain to go-around.
The downdraft finally dissipated and the crew decided to manually control the aircraft. The autothrottle, however, remained in engaged position. By this time, the airspeed had decreased from 173 to 160 knots (320 to 296 km/h; 199 to 184 mph) and the aircraft had deviated from the glideslope. Due to it, the crew became confused and pre-occupied with the weather conditions. The TAWS alarm sounded, but the crew didn't give any response to it. The flight continued its approach. First Officer Malik maintained his communication with the controller while Captain Afridi was at the controls. Both the pitch angle and the thrust were decreased.
Second downdraft
The aircraft encountered another downdraft. This time, it was more severe than the last, reaching as high as 50 feet per second (15 m/s). The ground proximity warning system (GPWS) alarm blared, causing Captain Afridi to pull the yoke back. The altitude and the thrust, however, continued to decrease. Due to the aircraft being configurated for landing, the airspeed began to decay again.
The downdraft suddenly dissipated in just four seconds. Captain Afridi, who had been struggling to make the aircraft to pitch up, caused the aircraft's nose to rise rapidly. This, in turn, caused the activation of the stick shaker, warning the crew of an impending stall. Alarmed by the stick shaker, Captain Afridi immediately made a nose down input. The altitude rapidly decreased and the thrust remained at a low setting. Multiple warnings blared inside the cockpit, starting from the GPWS "Whoop whoop pull up!" to the windshear warning. Captain Afridi, now frantic, rapidly pulled up the nose again and causing another stick shaker activation. First Officer Malik shouted multiple times to the captain to get out of the stall condition.
The controller in Islamabad later cleared Flight 213 to land; due to the chaotic situation inside the cockpit, the crew never acknowledged the call. Captain Afridi maintained his nose-down input and First Officer Malik could be heard panicking. The GPWS "Whoop whoop pull up" continued to blare inside the cockpit and the aircraft kept descending towards the ground.
Crash
At 18:40 PKT, with an airspeed of 215 knots (398 km/h; 247 mph) and a pitch angle of 0 degree, the aircraft slammed onto the ground with its main landing gears first. It crashed at a distance of 4.24 nautical miles (4.88 mi; 7.85 km) from the runway, in the small village of Hussain Abad in Islamabad, in heavy rain conditions.[Note 1] The aircraft exploded and struck a 5-metre-high (16 ft) terrace, causing further breakup. The wreckage was spread over 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) radius. All 127 people on board were killed.
A following Airblue flight landed safely five minutes after the accident occurred.
The airport was closed for three hours after the accident due to a lack of fire cover. The emergency crews based at the airport went to the crash site to assist in the firefighting operations there. A total of 100 army personnel were deployed to assist the other rescue personnel. The rescue operation was hampered due to the surge of onlookers at the site. A traffic jam reportedly blocked rescuers from reaching the site quickly. Flights affected by the closure were diverted to Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore. At least four houses were badly damaged due to the crash. However, despite the fact that it occurred in a residential area, there were no casualties on the ground.
Passengers and crew
Flight 213 was carrying 121 passengers and 6 crew members. The passengers consisted of 110 adults, six children and five infants. The nationalities of the passengers were not disclosed. Most were thought to be citizens of Pakistan. According to the manifest, at least 2 military officials, a Station Commander Officer of Hyderabad and a squadron leader, were on board Flight 213. A Bhoja Air senior official was also reported to be on board.
The pilot in command of Flight 213 was identified as 58-year-old Noorullah Afridi. According to fellow pilots, he had also worked as flying instructor for Pakistan Air Force Academy in Risalpur. Before joining Bhoja Air, he had served as a captain of a Boeing 737-400 in Shaheen Air International. He had been temporarily trained for the Boeing 737-400 but the training was eventually discontinued as his supervisors in Shaheen Air International thought that he couldn't operate the automated flight deck in an "effective, efficient and safe" manner. The crew logbook showed that he had accrued a total flying experience of more than 10,000 hours, with 2,027 hours on the Boeing 737-200. However, only 82 hours were on the Boeing 737-236A.
The second in command was identified as 53-year-old Javaid Malik. Before working as a commercial pilot, he had served in the Pakistan Air Force. According to the investigation, he had been paired with Captain Afridi since his employment with Shaheen Air International. He later joined Captain Afridi to leave Shaheen Air for Bhoja Air. He had accrued a total flying experience of 2,832 hours, of which 750 hours were on the Boeing 737-200. However, only 82 hours were on the Boeing 737-236A type.
Aftermath
A statement on Bhoja Air's website offered condolences to the affected families and said that it would fulfil its legal obligations under the Pakistani law applicable at the time of the accident. Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik later told news media that the owner of Bhoja Air had been banned from leaving Pakistan in response to the crash. In the immediate aftermath, all hospitals in Islamabad and the neighboring city of Rawalpindi were put on high alert. Crisis centres were set up in Karachi and Islamabad to provide information to the relatives.
President Asif Ali Zardari cut short his trip to cities in Punjab and returned to the capital, and he and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani sent condolences to the families of those who died in the accident. The Civil Aviation Authority issued an office order at 9 a.m. the next day, requiring all airlines to transport the bodies of the victims free of cost. The families who had already paid for the transportation before the order was released were refunded the amount.