‘Pilots’ indecisiveness and fatigue to blame for AI’s flight crash’

Mental fatigue, lack of assertiveness and non-compliance of instructions by the on-ground staff led an Air India flight to crash into a wall at the Stockholm Arlanda

Mental fatigue, lack of assertiveness and non-compliance of instructions by the on-ground staff led an Air India flight to crash into a wall at the Stockholm Arlanda airport last year, a report has found. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) uploaded the report, based on findings of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, on its website on Friday.

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On November 28, 2018, an Air India B787-800 aircraft operating flight Al-167 (Delhi to Stockholm) crashed into a building wall at the Stockholm airport while landing. The plane had 175 passengers and ten crew members on board. While the collision didn’t cause any injuries, the aircraft was immediately stopped and passengers were deplaned after necessary clearances from the local authorities.

The report stated that the crew manoeuvred the aircraft in an incorrect manner – the aircraft moved to one parking stand (F28R) from the line of another parking stand (F28L) without checking the left wing tip clearance. “Though both pilots operated this flight after availing weekly rest, the co-pilot had undergone a personal tragedy on the day of the incident. He first thought of reporting sick and then changed his mind and operated the flight. The pilot in command (PIC) was also monitoring the communication with the air traffic controller (ATC). He was partially aware of the stand allocated to them. However, he agreed to erroneous information provided by the first officer [co-pilot]. Thus, the PIC lacked assertiveness and followed the advice of his first officer without cross check,” the DGCA’s report states.

Mental fatigue of the first officer and wrong inputs by him, and lack of assertiveness of the PIC reduced the ATC’s awareness of the situation, the report said. Non-compliance of the instructions by the ground handling staff were also cited as reasons leading to the crash.

DGCA has now directed the airline to take necessary corrective action against the concerned pilots and to put in place a robust system to prevent such incidents in the future.