On 22 May 2020, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303, a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Lahore to Karachi, crashed while on approach to Jinnah International Airport, killing 97 out of the 99 people on board as well as an additional person on the ground. The aircraft, an Airbus A320 with 91 passengers and 8 crew members on board, was on an unstable approach to Jinnah International Airport, with an excessively high airspeed and altitude. The aircraft subsequently belly landed nearly half-way down the airport runway before the flight crew conducted a go-around. During the go-around, both engines started to fail due to damage sustained during the belly landing. Whilst attempting to land back on the runway, the aircraft lost airspeed and crashed into buildings in Kazimabad. All 8 crew members and 89 out of the 91 passengers on board were killed by the impact and post-crash fire. One person who was inside the buildings died ten days after the crash due to burn injuries.
The investigation, conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of Pakistan, determined that both the captain and first officer made multiple errors over an extended period during both the approach and landing. The crew lacked crew resource management, which led to unsafe flight operations and a lack of adherence to standard operating procedures. The investigators determined that the crew's actions resulted in the aircraft being significantly above the required glide slope approach path for the runway. The flight crew disregarded air traffic control instructions and continued an unstable approach. The improper position of the approach path and the configuration of the aircraft then caused the autopilot to disengage. In response to the high descent rate and numerous warnings from the ground proximity warning system, the first officer raised the landing gear and speed brakes in an attempt to go around. He did not verbalise his actions to the captain, nor did he follow up with the proper go-around procedure. The captain continued with the landing, and the aircraft contacted the surface of the runway multiple times. This resulted in severe damage to the engines, which led to a failure of both engines and electrical generators as the aircraft then climbed away from the runway. The crew were now attempting to return to the airport, but with damaged engines and at a critical altitude, the plane was simply too low and too slow to go around for a successful landing. The aircraft continued to lose airspeed before crashing into a row of buildings 4,410 ft (1,340 m) from the threshold of the runway.
Background
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was an Airbus A320-214, built by Airbus Industrie in 2004, with registration AP-BLD and manufacturer serial number 2274. It was powered by two CFM International CFM56-5B4 engines manufactured by CFM International. The left engine was installed in February 2019 while the right engine was installed in May 2019. The aircraft had a total of 47,124 airframe hours and 25,866 flight cycles before the accident flight, of which 18,632 airframe hours and 8,353 flight cycles were at Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
The last routine maintenance check on the aircraft before the accident was conducted by PIA's engineering department on 21 March 2020, and the last major check before the accident occurred on 19 October 2019, during which no defects were found in its engines, landing gear or avionics. From 22 March to 6 May 2020, the plane had remained grounded owing to flight cancellations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. From 7 May onward, the plane had conducted six flights. On the day prior to the accident, the plane had operated a flight from Muscat in Oman to Lahore in Pakistan. The aircraft had a valid certificate of airworthiness and certificate of maintenance review at the time of the accident.
Crew and passengers
Two pilots were in command of the flight. The captain of the flight was 58-year-old Sajjad Gul. Gul had 17,252 flight hours, 7,044 of which were when he was pilot-in-command and 4,783 of which were on the Airbus A320. He joined PIA in March 1996 after getting his medical certificate from the Civil Aviation Medical Board in 1987. He flew as a first officer on the Fokker F27, Boeing 737, Airbus A310, and Boeing 777. He was promoted to a captain in 2013, first on ATR aircraft, then on the Airbus A320 in 2015. He was described by the Pakistan Airline Pilots Association as one of PIA's most experienced pilots. The first officer of the flight was 33-year-old Usman Azam. Azam had 2,291 flight hours, 2,132 of which were when he was pilot-in-command and 1,504 of which were on the Airbus A320. He joined PIA in August 2010 after getting his medical certificate from the Civil Aviation Medical Board in 2005. He flew as a first officer on ATR aircraft and on the Airbus A320.
In addition to the two flight crew members, there were six flight attendants on board the flight. 91 passengers were on board the flight, consisting of 51 men, 31 women, and 9 children. One passenger was American. Among the passengers were Pakistani model and actress Zara Abid and chief executive officer of the Bank of Punjab Zafar Masud. Five officers from the Pakistan Army and one from the Pakistan Air Force were also on the flight. The flight carried many passengers that wanted to get home to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, an Islamic holiday, after flight disruptions due to nationwide lockdowns as part of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Jinnah International Airport
Jinnah International Airport has two runways, Runway 07L/25R and Runway 07R/25L, of which the latter is the longest, with a length of 11,200 ft (3,400 m). An approach to Runway 25L starts at the Nawabshah VOR, which is located approximately 112.9 nmi (209.1 km) northeast from the airport. After passing the VOR, the inbound flight would proceed to waypoint MAKLI, located 15.3 nmi (28.3 km) from the threshold of Runway 25L. Following this, the aircraft would turn right towards waypoint SABEN, which is located 11.4 nmi (21.1 km) from the runway threshold. The designated altitude for aircraft crossing SABEN was 3,000 ft (910 m) to safely intercept the 3° glideslope for the runway. If at SABEN, the aircraft was still above 3,000 ft (910 m), they would be required to enter a holding pattern in order to lose altitude.
Airbus A320 flight control unit
The Airbus A320 has a flight control unit (FCU), an interface on the glareshield of the cockpit. It is the primary interface that allows the flight crew to interact with the flight computers, engage and disengage the autopilot and autothrust, and change other flight parameters. The FCU has four knobs that can change the aircraft's airspeed, altitude, heading, and vertical speed. The knobs can be pushed in or out to the autopilot mode for that setting to either selected or managed guidance.
When one of the knobs is pulled out after a value is selected, selected mode will engage. In selected mode, the autopilot will maintain the value selected until it is changed by the pilots. When one of the knobs is pushed in after a value is selected, managed mode will engage. In managed mode, the autopilot determines the flight path based on pre-programmed information in the flight management system (FMS). For instance, a pilot could push the heading knob in, and the autopilot would manage the aircraft's heading in order to follow the track in the FMS.
When the altitude knob is pushed in with a selected altitude lower than the aircraft's current altitude, descent mode (DES mode) will activate. In DES mode, the aircraft will follow the descent profile as programmed into the FMS. Depending on the total distance available for descent, DES mode will lower the rate of descent in order to capture the selected altitude safely.
In selected mode, open descent mode can be engaged. In open descent, the auto thrust will reduce the engine power to idle thrust while the autopilot pitches the aircraft's nose up or down in order to achieve a selected speed. Open descent is prohibited from being used on final approach.
Accident
First approach
The flight, with callsign "Pakistan 8303", departed Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore at 13:05:30 with First Officer Azam as the designated pilot flying and Captain Gul as the designated pilot monitoring. The flight soon climbed to its cruising altitude of 34,000 ft (10,400 m). At 13:24, the flight crew made contact with Karachi area control and were told to expect an instrument landing system
(ILS) approach to Runway 25L. After the aircraft crossed Nawabshah at 14:15:38, air traffic control (ATC) cleared the crew to start descending to 10,000 ft (3,050 m) and fly direct to MAKLI. The crew engaged DES mode by turning the altitude knob to 10,000 ft (3,050 m) and pushing it in. At 14:18:36, the selected altitude changed to 5,000 ft (1,520 m) and the descent rate increased from 1,000 ft/min (305 m/min) to 2,400 ft/min (732 m/min). As the aircraft approached MAKLI at 14:23:16, ATC instructed the flight crew to contact Karachi Approach on frequency 125.5 MHz. However, the crew accidentally set their radios to 126.5 and did not respond to radio calls from ATC. For the next minute, ATC called Flight 8303 three times, and an additional PIA aircraft also tried to call them, but without any response. Afterward, ATC called the flight crew on guard frequency three times. The flight crew responded to the third call and properly contacted Karachi Approach.
After communication was re-established, Karachi approach cleared the flight to descend down to 3,000 ft (914 m) and an ILS approach to Runway 25L at 14:25:54. At this time, the aircraft was still above 15,000 ft (4,570 m). At 14:30:22, the aircraft was 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) from the threshold of Runway 25L at an altitude of 9,363 ft (2,850 m). At this time, the localizer capture (LOC) mode was automatically engaged. In LOC mode, the aircraft will follow the localizer signal for the runway it is approaching and override the track inputted into NAV mode. In the case of Flight 8303, this meant that the holding pattern around SABEN and its associated track miles would no longer be flown. This reduced the true amount of track miles the aircraft would have to fly from MAKLI to the threshold of Runway 25L from 38 nmi (70.4 km) to 15 nmi (27.8 km). However, this change was not reflected in the FMS, and the aircraft continued to descend at a descent rate corresponding to a 38 nmi (70.4 km) distance rather than a 15 nmi (27.8 km) distance. This resulted in the descent rate becoming too low to safely intercept the glideslope. ATC recognized that the flight was too high and asked them, "Pakistan 8303 confirm track
mile comfortable for descent?" Captain Gul replied with "Affirm." Directly afterward, Gul exclaimed to First Officer Azam, "What has happened? Stop, stop, oh no! Take out the hold, take out the hold, take out the hold, take out the hold". Azam responded with, "Hold taken out, should we report this happening [to air traffic control]?" Captain Gul replied, "No, this could be due to hold, tell Karachi Approach that [we're] established on localizer."
At 14:30:44, one of the flight crew members engaged the open descent with a target of 3,000 ft (914 m) mode despite it being disallowed on approach. A few seconds later, the speed brakes were extended in order to increase drag on the aircraft. The crew selected a target airspeed of 255 kn (472 km/h), although the aircraft was at 9,210 ft (2,810 m); this action violated the 250 kn (463 km/h) airspeed limitation for aircraft below 10,000 ft (3,050 m). At 14:31:13, Karachi Tower contacted Karachi Approach—the ATC in contact with the flight—and said, "Sir, it's too high," with Karachi Approach responding with, "Yes, it is too high and I am observing it and will give orbit." Karachi Approach then called out to the flight and said, "Pakistan 8303 report level passing". Captain Gul replied, "Out of 75 for 3,000". However, their altitude at this point was around 7,700 ft (2,350 m), not 7,500 ft (2,290 m). At this time, the aircraft passed over SABEN at 7,830 ft (2,390 m), over twice as high as it should have been. At 14:31:34, 10.4 nmi (19.3 km) from the runway threshold, and 7,440 ft (2,270 m) high, the landing gear lever was moved into the down position, although without any verbalization by either of the flight crew members. The extra drag caused by the landing gear deployment resulted in the aircraft pitching down from just under 0° nose down to 7.4° nose down and a descent rate 7,500 ft/min (2,290 m/min) in order to maintain the selected airspeed. Seven seconds later, ATC called the flight and told them, "Sir, orbit is available if you want," In the cockpit, Captain Gul told First Officer Azam to, "Say it's OK." Azam then told ATC, "Negative sir, we are comfortable, we can make it inshallah." Gul then said to Azam, "He will be surprised what we have done," referring to air traffic controller and how he wanted to land on their current unstable approach.
At 14:32:25, ATC instructed the flight with, "Pakistan 8303, disregard, turn left heading 180." The flight crew replied with "Sir, we are comfortable now, and we are out of 3,500 for 3,000, established ILS 25L," although their actual altitude was 3,900 ft (1,190 m). The controller once again called the flight crew and said, "Negative, turn left heading 180," but this instruction was again ignored with the response of, "Sir, we are established on ILS 25L." At this moment, the aircraft was passing through 3,090 ft (942 m) just 5.7 nmi (10.6 km) from the runway threshold and had a pitch of 12.6° nose down. Although the selected airspeed was 225 kn (417 km/h), the aircraft had an airspeed of 242 kn (448 km/h). This resulted in an "overspeed" warning after the flaps were extended. Soon afterward, the aircraft's pitch reached 13.7° nose down and the autopilot disconnected, without a response from either crew member. At 14:32:52, the first ground proximity warning system (GPWS) warnings started to sound in the cockpit; first a "sink rate!" then two "pull up!" warnings. First Officer Azam then started to command his sidestick two-thirds nose up, which brought the descent rate from 7,400 ft/min (2,260 m/min) to 2,000 ft/min (610 m/min) and increased to pitch to nearly 0°. Four seconds later, he raised the landing gear and speed brakes without any verbalization to Captain Gul. Near simultaneously, ATC cleared the flight to land on Runway 25L.