True Aviation Flight 21

True Aviation Flight 21 was a regularly scheduled domestic cargo flight, flying from Cox's Bazar to Jashore. On March 9, 2016, the Antonov An-26 crashed into the Bay of Bengal shortly after take-off from Cox's Bazar Airport in Bangladesh. The aircraft was attempting to return to the airport after experiencing an engine failure. Three of the four crew members on board were killed in the accident. On 9 March 2016,

True Aviation Flight 21

S2-AGZ, the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date	9 March 2016 (2016-03-09)
Summary	Engine failure on take-off and pilot error
Site	0.5 km (0.3 mi) off Cox's Bazar Airport, Bangladesh
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Antonov An-26B
Operator	True Aviation
Call sign	ALPHA GOLF ZULU 21
Registration	S2-AGZ
Flight origin	Cox's Bazar Airport, Bangladesh
Destination	Jessore Airport, Bangladesh
Occupants	4
Passengers	0
Crew	4
Fatalities	3
Injuries	1
Survivors	1

Background

The flight was managed by True Blue Aviation. Ashek Ullah Rafique, a member from the Parliament of Cox's Bazar and member of the Awami League is one of the owners of the airline.

Accident

On March 9, 2016, an Antonov An-26 owned by True Aviation and operating a cargo flight as Flight 21 was scheduled to fly from Cox's Bazar Airport to Jessore Airport.

At 02:58 UTC, according to the ATC, the crew requested the startup clearance, afterwards, the ATC controller informed the crew that the visibility at Jessore Airport was 3 km. The aircraft was cleared to taxi to runway 35 via taxiway S.

At 3:05 UTC, the aircraft requested takeoff clearance and was cleared to take-off a few moments later.

Immediately after the aircraft was airborne, the pilots informed the tower that they were experiencing an engine failure, without initially reporting which one of the two engines was failing. The pilots later confirmed that the left-hand engine had failed, which led the pilot to request an immediate return to Cox's Bazar Airport.

The air traffic controller advised the pilot to call for a left-hand downwind approach, but instead the pilot made a right-hand downwind approach at a very low altitude.

All emergency service vehicles were put on standby by the controllers. The aircraft was on final approach when it requested clearance for an emergency landing, but for unknown reasons, the aircraft initiated a go-around at a low altitude. According to the flight controller, the plane was flying at an altitude between 400 and 500 ft.

The surviving flight navigator confirmed in a later statement that the ATC had actually warned the pilots to call for a left-hand downwind approach. The ATC repeatedly kept calling the aircraft, but there was no response from the crew, and communication with the aircraft was later lost.

At 03:32 UTC, the airport authorities were only told that the aircraft had crashed approximately 3 kilometers east of the airport, in the Bay of Bengal.

Aircraft and crew

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Antonov An-26, which entered service on February 15, 1984. On July 17, 2014, the aircraft entered service in Bangladesh. The aircraft was powered by two Ivchenko Al-24 turboprop engines. The aircraft had accumulated 16,379 hours of flight time at the time of the accident.

The aircraft was owned by Air Urga and was on lease to True Aviation.

Crew

The crew consisted of four pilots, all of whom were Ukrainian nationals. Three of the four crew members were killed, whilst one survived.

The dead were:

• 57-year-old Captain Murad Gafarov, who had 13.315 total flight hours, including 6,809 hours on the An-26.
• 27-year-old Co-pilot Ivan Petrov, who had 1,438 total flight hours, including 1,195 hours on the An-26.
• 36-year-old Flight Engineer Kulisn Andriy, who had 3,924 total hours, including 2,946 hours on the An-26.

The survivor was:

• 48-year-old Flight Navigator Vlodymyr Kultanov, who had 3,924 total hours, including 2,946 hours on the An-26.

Rescue

Local fishermen rushed to the accident scene and rescued the flight navigator. The Bangladesh Navy, Coast Guard, and fire service joined the rescue, and the flight navigator was taken to the district hospital in Cox's Bazar. The other three crew were found dead. Postmortems determined they died due to head injury on impact.

Investigation

The Air Accident Investigation Group Bangladesh, or AAIG-BD opened an investigation into the accident on the same day it occurred. Since the crew members were Ukrainian, the National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine assisted in the investigation. Ukrainian members of the accident investigation team visited the crash site between March 21 and 26.

On the same day as the accident, the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were recovered. Both recorders, manufactured in Ukraine, showed no external signs of damage.

On April 11, both recorders were sent to the headquarters of the National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine in Kyiv to be inspected. According to the NBAAI analysis of both recorders, the CVR could not be read due to the internal damage suffered, but the FDR was in good condition; therefore, a readout of the recorder was possible.

Final report

The final report of the accident was released by the AAIG-BD on April 20, 2017 and stated that the probable causes were:

The AAIG-BD issued three safety recommendations, including: