Gulf Air Flight 072 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Cairo International Airport, Egypt, to Bahrain International Airport, Bahrain, operated by Gulf Air. On 23 August 2000 at 19:30 Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3), the Airbus A320 crashed minutes after executing a go-around following a failed attempt to land on Runway 12. The flight crew suffered from spatial disorientation during the go-around and crashed into the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf 2 km (1 nmi) from the airport. All 143 people on board the aircraft were killed in what remains the deadliest aviation accident in Bahraini and Gulf Air history, and was the deadliest accident involving an Airbus A320 at the time, which was later surpassed by TAM Airlines Flight 3054.
The final report, issued on 15 August 2002, concluded that the individual factors contributing to the accident were non−adherence to a number of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and loss of spatial and situational awareness by the aircraft crew during the approach and final phases of the flight. A number of systemic factors also contributed to the accident, including deficiency in crew resource management (CRM) training by Gulf Air and safety oversights by the Directorate General Of Civil Aviation and Meteorology of Oman.
Aircraft
Flight 072 was operated with an Airbus A320-212, registered as A4O-EK. It was delivered to Gulf Air in September 1994. It was powered by two CFM International CFM56-5A3 engines and had accumulated 17,370 hours in 13,990 takeoff and landing cycles before the accident. Its last maintenance was conducted on 17–18 August 2000. The aircraft was in compliance with all applicable airworthiness directives for the airframe and engines.
Passengers and crew
The aircraft was carrying 135 passengers, 2 pilots, and 6 cabin crew members. Among the 135 passengers were 61 men, 37 women and 37 children (including 8 infants). The majority of the passengers were from Bahrain and Egypt. Most of the Egyptian passengers were expatriate families who were returning to their homes in the Gulf region after a holiday in Egypt. One Egyptian who was supposed to board the flight was turned away by immigration officials in Cairo who found his passport was not stamped with the necessary Egyptian interior ministry permit for working abroad.
The American Consulate in Bahrain confirmed that one American embassy courier, who reportedly was holding classified information, was on board Flight 072. Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported that three Chinese workers from a news agency in Cairo were also onboard. They were on a stopover in Bahrain, and would have continued to China.
There were two pilots in the aircrew:
- The pilot-in-command was 37-year-old Bahraini Captain Ihsan Shakeeb (إحسان شكيب). He joined Gulf Air as a cadet pilot in 1979 and, after training, served as flight engineer of the Lockheed L-1011 between 1988 and 1994, before being eventually promoted to first officer of the Lockheed L-1011 and soon after the Boeing 767 in 1994. He then served as first officer of the Airbus A320 in 1998, before once again serving as a Boeing 767 first officer the following year, until his official promotion to Airbus A320 captain in Jan, 2000. Shakeeb had 4,416 hours of flying experience (including 1,083 hours on the Airbus A320), of which 86 were as captain.
- The First Officer was 25-year-old Omani Khalaf al-Alawi (خلف العلوي). He joined Gulf Air as a cadet pilot in 1999 through the company's ab initio training program. Having failed his initial Airbus A320 proficiency check on October 29, 1999, underwent additional training before being promoted to first officer of the Airbus A320 in April, 2000. Al-Alawi had logged 608 hours of flying experience, 408 of them on the Airbus A320.
Accident
Flight 072 was a short-haul international passenger service operating from Cairo International Airport, Egypt, to Bahrain International Airport in Manama. The flight, normally about two hours in duration, was scheduled to depart at 16:00 local time. The crew arrived 25 minutes before departure but had been directed to an incorrect gate by ground personnel, resulting in a delay of more than 50 minutes. The aircraft eventually departed Cairo at 16:52 with 135 passengers and 8 crew members on board. Captain Shakeeb served as pilot flying, with First Officer al-Alawi as pilot monitoring.
Approach
Following an uneventful cruise, Flight 072 was transferred to Bahrain Approach for sequencing. As the aircraft neared Manama, the controller queried whether the crew had been cleared to 3,500 ft. Captain Shakeeb instructed the first officer to report that they had been cleared to 7,000 ft, which he believed was correct. ATC clarified that their assigned altitude was 3,500 ft, after which the aircraft commenced a rapid descent, resulting in a significant increase in airspeed. Mid-descent, the controller further cleared the aircraft to 1,500 ft, and the descent continued with rising airspeed.
On arrival in the terminal area, the aircraft was aligned with Runway 12. Due to the steep descent, the airspeed reached 313 knots (580 km/h; 360 mph), which was too high for proper configuration. Despite this, Captain Shakeeb chose to continue the approach and directed the first officer to report VOR establishment. He called for landing gear extension and flaps 1. At the final approach fix, the aircraft remained both high and fast.
Seconds later, Captain Shakeeb elected to switch from the previously agreed instrument flight rules (IFR) approach to a visual flight rules (VFR) approach. The aircraft remained above 500 ft—too high for a stabilized VFR landing—and the excessive speed prevented proper flap configuration. The autopilot and flight directors were disengaged.
Recognizing that the approach could not be stabilized, Captain Shakeeb requested flaps 2. Instead of initiating a missed approach, he decided to attempt a 360-degree orbit to lose altitude and speed before re-aligning with the runway. ATC approved the request. At an altitude of approximately 586 ft and 0.9 nautical miles from the runway, the aircraft began a left turn over the sea.
During the turn, the flaps were extended fully and the landing gear remained down, increasing drag. The aircraft’s bank angle and altitude fluctuated, and the turn was not flown in a stable manner, subjecting passengers to forces of +0.5 to +1.5 g. After several minutes, the aircraft rolled wings level.
Upon completion of the turn, the crew attempted to locate the runway. The first officer identified it at the 10 o’clock position, indicating that the aircraft had completed only a 270-degree turn rather than a full orbit. Captain Shakeeb did not immediately respond; after about 10 seconds he acknowledged, “We overshot it,” and initiated a missed approach.
Go-around and crash
Captain Shakeeb instructed the first officer to inform ATC of the missed approach. As the aircraft entered a climbing left turn, the flaps were retracted to position 3. ATC then provided radar vectors, which the crew accepted. With thrust set to TO/GA, the aircraft began climbing rapidly. The captain then lowered the nose slightly to moderate the climb, but this caused the airspeed to increase further.
ATC instructed the crew to turn to heading 300°, requiring a further left turn over the sea. During the turn, a master caution activated, warning of excessive airspeed for the current flap setting. Simultaneously, ATC requested that the crew contact the approach controller. The first officer alerted the captain to the overspeed condition.
With TO/GA thrust and insufficient nose-up attitude for climb, the aircraft continued to accelerate. Captain Shakeeb then applied a large nose-down input, inducing a rapid descent at a pitch angle of approximately 15°, the maximum permissible. As the first officer called “flaps three,” the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) issued a “sink rate” alert. Instead of responding to the warning, the captain ordered flap retraction. As the aircraft descended toward the sea, the GPWS escalated to “Whoop, whoop! Pull up!” The crew continued discussing flap position while the aircraft descended unchecked. The flaps were fully retracted moments before impact; although the nose was raised slightly, the aircraft continued its descent, and the GPWS warnings persisted until the crash.
At 19:30 p.m., flying with a speed of 280 knots and a nose-down pitch of 6.5 degrees, the aircraft slammed onto the sea below, instantly killing all 143 passengers and crew members. Flight 072 ceased all contacts and was declared as missing.
Response
The Bahraini government immediately dispatched members of the Bahraini Coast Guard and Civil Defense Agency. As the United States Navy Fifth Fleet was stationed in Manama's U.S. Commander of Naval Forces Central Command, the Bahraini government immediately requested assistance from the United States for the search and rescue operation. The US Navy deployed hundreds of its personnel to scour the crash site. US Navy support ship USNS Catawba was deployed with dive team, meanwhile the USS George Washington, which was docked in Manama at the time, sent 100 of its personnel to join the operation. Canadian forces stationed in the Gulf were also initially asked to assist in the operation, but were later called off.
Within hours of the crash, pieces of wreckage could be seen in the crash site, located in shallow waters approximately five kilometres off Manama Airport. The wreckage lay 6–9 feet (1.8–2.7 m) below sea level. Rescuers managed to recover more than 50 bodies from the crash site. Dozens of ambulances were dispatched and the bodies of the victims were transported to Salmaniya Hospital, the nation's largest medical centre. Manama Airport was eventually cordoned off and authorities barred people from entering.
Crisis centres were set up in both Manama and Cairo. A special flight to Bahrain would later be arranged for the relatives, and accommodation would be provided at Manama's The Gulf Hotel. Officials stated that trauma counsellors from Bahrain and Egypt would be provided for the next of kin. A trauma centre for the families was set up at the hotel, and services would be held to attend to their needs.
The hotel was also used for identification of the victims. Names of the victims were read out loud for the families, who were later taken into an undisclosed room to identify the victims. As several relatives began to cry in hysterics after several names had been read out, ambulances were put on standby, and medics were handed tranquillizers for the bereaved.
A national mourning period was declared by the Emir of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, for three days in Bahrain following the crash. In Egypt and Bahrain, special praying services for the victims were held immediately after the crash. A national funeral service was eventually held on 25 August at Manama's Al Fateh Grand Mosque, which was attended by high-ranking Bahraini officials, including then Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and members of the emirate. The funeral also drew thousands of Bahrainis.
In Egypt, officials stated that the government would provide every need for the relatives, particularly regarding repatriation and compensation. Egyptian Interior Ministry announced that travel documents would be provided for families who could not travel to Manama to retrieve their next of kin. High ranking officials also visited relatives in Cairo Airport's crisis centre and offered their condolences. In Palestine, President Yasser Arafat expressed regret to the relatives of the victims and visited their homes to extend his sympathy. Condolences also came from Iran and Qatar.
As of 24 August, the bodies of all 143 passengers and crews had been successfully recovered from the crash site. Authorities also managed to find the aircraft's flight recorders; both were found intact. Meanwhile, the US Navy announced that their personnel had been able to retrieve the classified yellow package that had been carried by its national from the crash site.
Gulf Air stated that victims would be compensated with $25,000 USD, which would also include repatriation of the victims to their respective countries. The amount would probably increase as soon as the investigation into the crash had finished. Gulf Air eventually offered to compensate a total of $125,000 USD for each adult victim and $80,000 USD for each minor victim, which were deemed by some of the relatives as inappropriate. Approximately three years after the crash, an out-of-court settlement was reached.
Investigation
The investigation initially would be spearheaded by Bahrain; however, government officials quickly asked for assistance from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for the investigation of the crash. NTSB would later be declared as the agency in charge of the investigation. They would be joined by representatives from France, Egypt, and Oman. A total of 20 investigators would be involved in the probe.