A320, vicinity Addis Ababa Ethiopia, 2003

A320, vicinity Addis Ababa Ethiopia, 2003

Summary

On 31 March 2003, an A320, operated by British Mediterranean AW, narrowly missed colliding with terrain during a non-precision approach to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Event Details
When
31/03/2003
Event Type
Day/Night
Night
Flight Conditions
IMC
Flight Details
Operator
Type of Flight
Public Transport (Passenger)
Intended Destination
Actual Destination
Take-off Commenced
Yes
Flight Airborne
Yes
Flight Completed
Yes
Phase of Flight
Descent
Location
Location - Airport
Airport
CFIT
Tag(s)
Into terrain, Lateral Navigation Error, IFR flight plan
Outcome
Damage or injury
No
Non-aircraft damage
No
Non-occupant Casualties
No
Off Airport Landing
No
Ditching
No
Causal Factor Group(s)
Group(s)
Air Traffic Management
Safety Recommendation(s)
Group(s)
Aircraft Airworthiness
Air Traffic Management
Investigation Type
Type
Independent

Description

On 31 March 2003, an AIRBUS A-320, operated by British Mediterranean AW, narrowly missed colliding with terrain during a non-precision approach to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Synopsis

The following is an extract taken from the UK AAIB report into the incident:

"[The] A320..on a flight from Alexandria…to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, carried out two approaches using Addis Ababa [VOR] and associated…DME. On the second approach the aircraft crossed over a ridge of high ground in…IMC and came within 56 feet of terrain at a location 5 nm to the northeast of the airport. As the aircraft croosed the ridge the crew, alerted a few seconds earlier by a radio altimeter (RA) height callout, carried out a go-around: at the same time the…EGPWS generated a "TOO LOW TERRAIN" aural alert.

The investigation determined that the antenna of the ADS VOR had suffered water ingress and was not functioning correctly. The correct maintenance procedures for the ADS VOR/DME and its associated monitoring equipment were not followed.

The aircraft received erroneous information from the ADS VOR which was fed to the flight deck VOR display, the FMS, the navigation displays and the EGPWS computer with its associated Terrain Awareness Display (TAD). A single common position source error thus adversely affected all these apparently independent navigation/situational awareness systems. The existing certification standards for the aircraft navigation systems were met but were not sufficient to protect against this problem."

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