2017 Valan International Antonov An-26 crash

2017 Valan International Antonov An-26 crash

Accident
Date	14 October 2017 (2017-10-14)
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain during approach in poor weather due to pilot error and lost of situational awareness
Site	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Antonov An-26-100
Operator	Valan International Cargo Charter
Registration	ER-AVB
Flight origin	Ouagadougou Airport, Burkina Faso
Destination	Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Abidjan, Ivory coast
Occupants	10
Passengers	4
Crew	6
Fatalities	4
Injuries	6
Survivors	6

On 14 October 2017, an Antonov An-26 transport aircraft of Valan International Cargo Charter crashed shortly before it was due to land at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Four of the ten people on board were killed.

Accident

A survivor rescued on the beach by the Ivorian firefighters.

The aircraft was operating a flight from Ouagadougou Airport, Burkina Faso to Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport, Abidjan. It crashed on the coast of the Ivory Coast shortly before landing. It broke in two during the accident. It was carrying six Moldovan crew and four French Army personnel. Four crew were killed. One of the six survivors was seriously injured. The aircraft had been chartered by the French Army and was operating in support of Operation Barkhane. The injured were transferred to the Port-Bouet camp for treatment. A thunderstorm was reported in the area at the time of the accident, about 08:30 local time (UTC).

Aircraft

The accident aircraft was an Antonov An-26-100, registration ER-AVB, msn 3204. The aircraft had first flown in 1975.

Investigation

Authorities in the Ivory Coast opened an investigation into the accident. The Civil Aviation Authority of Moldova is assisting the investigation. The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were recovered from the wreckage of the aircraft.

The Ivorian BEA released is final report on August 2019 stated that the probable cause was:

The decision by the flight crew of continuing with the approach despite it was made below minimums and without the required visual contact with runway of the airport and with an improper monitoring of the descent of the aircraft. According to the airline's severe Standard Operating Procedures in this case the pilots will be have to perform a go-around.

The BEA also found other contributing factors that was the following:

• The crew underestimate the adverse weather condiction below minimum in this situation;
• Poor knowledge of the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport surroundings and lost of situational awareness about the vertical profile of the aircraft;
• Lack of monitoring of flight instruments and flight path especially regarding altitude and speed in poor weather conditions;
• Excessive workload due to continued instructions on final approach and distractions that don't have to do with the conduction of flight;
• De-activation of EGPWS due to noise in the cabin;
• Irregular cockpit resource management (CRM) due to excessive authority by the captain over other crew members;
• Non compliance by the crew of company standard operating procedures.