An Air India Airbus A320-200, registration VT-ETE performing flight AI-850 from Pune to Delhi (India) with 149 passengers and 6 crew, was at the top of descent into Delhi when ATC informed the crew to expect delays due to weather. The crew, having Jaipur (India) as their alternate shown in the clear, entered a hold at FL170 for 68 minutes. With 2990 kg of fuel remaining the crew decided to divert to their alternate Jaipur, which at this time still showed in the clear with visibility above 2000 meters and few CB clouds, however did not obtain the latest METAR for Jaipur which showed a sudden deterioration of weather. The aircraft informed Jaipur about a low fuel situation and commenced the ILS approach to Jaipur's runway 27, however, aborted the approach due to windshear at 3300 feet, onboard fuel was 1600 kg remaining. Seeing the weather was further deteriorating and after considering their options the crew decided to divert to Gwalior (India), declared MAYDAY FUEL and performed a visual approach to Gwalior's runway 24 completing a safe landing with just 464kg of fuel remaining.
India's DGCA released their final report concluding the probable causes of the fuel emergency incident were:
Flight crew decision to divert to alternate aerodrome without obtaining the latest weather and attempt to land in deteriorating weather conditions resulted in low fuel and further diversion to unplanned aerodrome led to the situation of emergency landing due to fuel.
Contributory Factors:
1. Company circular on inflight fuel management added additional pressure on the flight crew decision making for commit to land at destination even to use planned alternate fuel to proceed to or hold at destination with the final reserve fuel remaining upon landing.
2. Weather at destination and destination alternate was the contributory factor.
Relevant METARs Delhi:
VIDP 251200Z 29007G17KT 4000 HZ FEW035 FEW040CB SCT100 35/15 Q1004 TEMPO 32030G40KT 1500 TS BLDU
VIDP 251530Z 12008KT 2200 TSRA SCT030 FEW035CB OVC080 22/20 Q1005 TEMPO 32030G50KT 0150 TSRA
Relevant METARs Jaipur:
VIJP 251200Z VRB03KT 7000 NSC 34/17 Q1006 NOSIG=
VIDP 251430Z 2800 R27(A)/R28(D) 2800 TS SCT020 FEW035CB Q1005 TEMPO 32020G40KT 1500
VIJP 251530Z 07006KT 3000 HZ SCT030 SCT100 30/21 Q1005 NOSIG=
VIJP 27Z 07006KT 2800 HZ SCT025 FEW035CB 30/21 Q1005 TEMPO 29015G25KT TSRA
VIJP 251600Z 09008KT 2500 HZ SCT030 FEW035CB BKN100 29/21 Q1005 TEMPO 29015G25KT 0800 TSRA
VIJP 251630Z 09008KT 2500 TS BKN030 FEW035CB BKN090 29/22 Q1005 TEMPO 29015G25KT 0800 TSRA=
VIJP 251700Z 32035G45KT 1000 R27/2000 TSRA BKN030 FEW035CB BKN080 22/17 Q1008 TEMPO 32035G45KT 0800 TSRA=
Weather notes of crew at Gwalior:
VIGR 24R 060/04 6000 1004 FEW030 SCT100 SCT250 NOSIG
The DGCA analysed:
Serviceability of aircraft
Aircraft was serviceable and flight was operating the last sector of the day. Previous sectors for the day, did not report any malfunction or defect as per available aircraft techlog and defect maintenance reports (DMR).
After landing at Gwalior, as per flight crew statements, aircraft underwent an APU-restart malfunction. APU was switched on to run the air conditioning and turning off the engines. Three attempts were made to restart the APU, however it was unsuccessful. Gwalior being not an operational destination for operator, no company engineer was present. Also, no entry regarding the APU fault was made in the techlog by the Crew.
It is inferred that the maintenance aspect was not the contributory factor to the incident. However, crew did not recorded the APU fault in the techlog.
Company guidelines on inflight fuel management
As per the companys fuel policy considering the economic aspects, airline advises to bring aboard a minimum of 06 ton of fuel to Delhi to incorporate for long taxi-delays, sequence waiting time etc. Thus the flight from Pune took aboard extra fuel and the FOB was 10500 kg whereas only 8224 kg of fuel would normally be required. This fuel taken aboard is well within airworthiness limits and is chosen based on the fuel economy performance of the aircraft which is part of the OFP.
Company has issued an internal circular dated 03.03.2023 applicable for A320/B777/B787 aircraft, advising pilots to decide to commit to land at destination aerodrome and wait till they actually hit MDF. The circular further advises that MDF fuel may be used to proceed to or for hold at the destination aerodrome. This however fails the purpose of MDF in case of any further unforeseen emergency.
From the above, it is inferred that the based on the content of the circular, it is evident that the company has added addition pressure on the flight crew decision making for commit to land at destination even to use planned alternate fuel to proceed to, or hold at destination with the final reserve fuel remaining upon landing.
Operational aspect
The pilot on left (PIC) was undergoing SLF as he had returned after being TMU for a period of 11 months and had undergone required training before releasing to supervised line flying. Before the incident flight PIC under-check flown another sector as supervised line flying on 25.05.2023 which was uneventful.
The Operational Flight Plan (OFP) for Pune-Delhi sector was generated at 0554hrs UTC at Delhi. Before take-off from Delhi for AI-849, crew took the briefing at 0930hrs UTC for both the flights. Crew received an updated weather for flight AI-850 (Pune-Delhi) at Pune airport and as per the OFP, Jaipur was the destination Alternate for Delhi. Refuelling was carried out at Pune airport and total fuel on board the aircraft was 10500 Kgs approx. including additional fuel of 900Kgs as per company policy.
The aircraft took off from Pune and flight was uneventful till top of descent into Delhi at 1452 UTC. On commencement of descent into Delhi, fuel on board 6184 kgs approx, the flight crew observed weather over Delhi and was informed by ATC to expect delay at Delhi. The crew requested to hold near Jaipur as the weather at Jaipur airport was clear at that time. Descent was carried out by Pilot Flying in coordination with ATC Delhi to FL170 at 1509 UTC. FOB at this time was 5853 Kgs. Further, Delhi ATC had informed the pilot that presently no landing of aircrafts are allowed.
The crew discussed among themselves that the weather was clear north of Delhi and requested to hold north of Delhi but was denied by ATC. Thereafter Delhi ATC announced that the runway was being changed, the crew interpreted this as the airfield being open to landing aircrafts. However, aircraft was vectored by ATC and later the flight crew were informed that no landings were taking place.
At 1619 UTC, crew decided to divert to Jaipur. However, the flight crew did not obtain the latest weather update before diverting to Jaipur. At this time, the FOB was 2990Kgs. While maintaining the aircraft at FL170 for about 01 hours 09 min, the aircraft consumed about 2805 kgs of fuel before diverting to Jaipur.
Thereafter crew were handed over to Jaipur ATC. At 1638 UTC, crew declared MINIMUM FUEL to ATC. The aircraft was number three in sequence. The preceding aircrafts carried out missed approaches. At 1652 UTC, crew requested ATC to approach for landing at Jaipur and discontinued the approach at 1658 UTC due deteriorating weather. At this time, the FOB was around 1600 kgs. At 1701 UTC, crew declared MAYDAY FUEL to Jaipur ATC. As the preceding aircraft diverted to Gwalior, AI850 also decided to divert to Gwalior Airport. At Gwalior crew carried out a visual approach for runway 24L and landed at 1732 UTC with 464Kgs on board.
From the above, it is inferred that crew decision of prolonged holding in expectation of weather to improve at Delhi further delayed the decision for diversion and the eventually when the decision was taken for diversion, the weather at Jaipur had already deteriorated.
Weather conditions analysis
Before the flight from Pune, crew took the weather of Delhi and Jaipur which was within the aerodrome operating minima. During flight, crew obtained the weather of Delhi and recorded visibility 2800m, TEMPO 32020G40Kts 1500. Flight was continued to Delhi, however, due to deteriorating weather, crew initiated holding at FL170 in coordination with ATC. As weather was not improving, hence crew kept holding for about 01 hrs 09 mins. During holding, crew obtained the weather of Jaipur at 1430UTC, 1530 UTC and 1558 UTC. At 1558 UTC, the visibility at rwy 27 Jaipur started dropping to 2800 HZ with tempo of 29015G25Kts TSRA.
The crew initiated diversion to Jaipur at 1619UTC and started descending, however they did not assess the deterioration of weather at Jaipur and continued approach. The aircraft could not land at Jaipur due to deteriorated weather. Aircraft initiated diversion to Gwalior at 1701UTC and declared MAYDAY FUEL to ATC at 1709 UTC. Crew obtain the Gwalior weather at around 1720UTC, visibility 6000m No-sig pattern. Aircraft landed Gwalior at 1732 UTC.
It is inferred that, weather was the contributory factor for prolonged holding over Delhi airspace which further resulted in declaration of MAYDAY fuel.
India's DGCA released their final report concluding the probable causes of the fuel emergency incident were:
Flight crew decision to divert to alternate aerodrome without obtaining the latest weather and attempt to land in deteriorating weather conditions resulted in low fuel and further diversion to unplanned aerodrome led to the situation of emergency landing due to fuel.
Contributory Factors:
1. Company circular on inflight fuel management added additional pressure on the flight crew decision making for commit to land at destination even to use planned alternate fuel to proceed to or hold at destination with the final reserve fuel remaining upon landing.
2. Weather at destination and destination alternate was the contributory factor.
Relevant METARs Delhi:
VIDP 251200Z 29007G17KT 4000 HZ FEW035 FEW040CB SCT100 35/15 Q1004 TEMPO 32030G40KT 1500 TS BLDU
VIDP 251530Z 12008KT 2200 TSRA SCT030 FEW035CB OVC080 22/20 Q1005 TEMPO 32030G50KT 0150 TSRA
Relevant METARs Jaipur:
VIJP 251200Z VRB03KT 7000 NSC 34/17 Q1006 NOSIG=
VIDP 251430Z 2800 R27(A)/R28(D) 2800 TS SCT020 FEW035CB Q1005 TEMPO 32020G40KT 1500
VIJP 251530Z 07006KT 3000 HZ SCT030 SCT100 30/21 Q1005 NOSIG=
VIJP 27Z 07006KT 2800 HZ SCT025 FEW035CB 30/21 Q1005 TEMPO 29015G25KT TSRA
VIJP 251600Z 09008KT 2500 HZ SCT030 FEW035CB BKN100 29/21 Q1005 TEMPO 29015G25KT 0800 TSRA
VIJP 251630Z 09008KT 2500 TS BKN030 FEW035CB BKN090 29/22 Q1005 TEMPO 29015G25KT 0800 TSRA=
VIJP 251700Z 32035G45KT 1000 R27/2000 TSRA BKN030 FEW035CB BKN080 22/17 Q1008 TEMPO 32035G45KT 0800 TSRA=
Weather notes of crew at Gwalior:
VIGR 24R 060/04 6000 1004 FEW030 SCT100 SCT250 NOSIG
The DGCA analysed:
Serviceability of aircraft
Aircraft was serviceable and flight was operating the last sector of the day. Previous sectors for the day, did not report any malfunction or defect as per available aircraft techlog and defect maintenance reports (DMR).
After landing at Gwalior, as per flight crew statements, aircraft underwent an APU-restart malfunction. APU was switched on to run the air conditioning and turning off the engines. Three attempts were made to restart the APU, however it was unsuccessful. Gwalior being not an operational destination for operator, no company engineer was present. Also, no entry regarding the APU fault was made in the techlog by the Crew.
It is inferred that the maintenance aspect was not the contributory factor to the incident. However, crew did not recorded the APU fault in the techlog.
Company guidelines on inflight fuel management
As per the companys fuel policy considering the economic aspects, airline advises to bring aboard a minimum of 06 ton of fuel to Delhi to incorporate for long taxi-delays, sequence waiting time etc. Thus the flight from Pune took aboard extra fuel and the FOB was 10500 kg whereas only 8224 kg of fuel would normally be required. This fuel taken aboard is well within airworthiness limits and is chosen based on the fuel economy performance of the aircraft which is part of the OFP.
Company has issued an internal circular dated 03.03.2023 applicable for A320/B777/B787 aircraft, advising pilots to decide to commit to land at destination aerodrome and wait till they actually hit MDF. The circular further advises that MDF fuel may be used to proceed to or for hold at the destination aerodrome. This however fails the purpose of MDF in case of any further unforeseen emergency.
From the above, it is inferred that the based on the content of the circular, it is evident that the company has added addition pressure on the flight crew decision making for commit to land at destination even to use planned alternate fuel to proceed to, or hold at destination with the final reserve fuel remaining upon landing.
Operational aspect
The pilot on left (PIC) was undergoing SLF as he had returned after being TMU for a period of 11 months and had undergone required training before releasing to supervised line flying. Before the incident flight PIC under-check flown another sector as supervised line flying on 25.05.2023 which was uneventful.
The Operational Flight Plan (OFP) for Pune-Delhi sector was generated at 0554hrs UTC at Delhi. Before take-off from Delhi for AI-849, crew took the briefing at 0930hrs UTC for both the flights. Crew received an updated weather for flight AI-850 (Pune-Delhi) at Pune airport and as per the OFP, Jaipur was the destination Alternate for Delhi. Refuelling was carried out at Pune airport and total fuel on board the aircraft was 10500 Kgs approx. including additional fuel of 900Kgs as per company policy.
The aircraft took off from Pune and flight was uneventful till top of descent into Delhi at 1452 UTC. On commencement of descent into Delhi, fuel on board 6184 kgs approx, the flight crew observed weather over Delhi and was informed by ATC to expect delay at Delhi. The crew requested to hold near Jaipur as the weather at Jaipur airport was clear at that time. Descent was carried out by Pilot Flying in coordination with ATC Delhi to FL170 at 1509 UTC. FOB at this time was 5853 Kgs. Further, Delhi ATC had informed the pilot that presently no landing of aircrafts are allowed.
The crew discussed among themselves that the weather was clear north of Delhi and requested to hold north of Delhi but was denied by ATC. Thereafter Delhi ATC announced that the runway was being changed, the crew interpreted this as the airfield being open to landing aircrafts. However, aircraft was vectored by ATC and later the flight crew were informed that no landings were taking place.
At 1619 UTC, crew decided to divert to Jaipur. However, the flight crew did not obtain the latest weather update before diverting to Jaipur. At this time, the FOB was 2990Kgs. While maintaining the aircraft at FL170 for about 01 hours 09 min, the aircraft consumed about 2805 kgs of fuel before diverting to Jaipur.
Thereafter crew were handed over to Jaipur ATC. At 1638 UTC, crew declared MINIMUM FUEL to ATC. The aircraft was number three in sequence. The preceding aircrafts carried out missed approaches. At 1652 UTC, crew requested ATC to approach for landing at Jaipur and discontinued the approach at 1658 UTC due deteriorating weather. At this time, the FOB was around 1600 kgs. At 1701 UTC, crew declared MAYDAY FUEL to Jaipur ATC. As the preceding aircraft diverted to Gwalior, AI850 also decided to divert to Gwalior Airport. At Gwalior crew carried out a visual approach for runway 24L and landed at 1732 UTC with 464Kgs on board.
From the above, it is inferred that crew decision of prolonged holding in expectation of weather to improve at Delhi further delayed the decision for diversion and the eventually when the decision was taken for diversion, the weather at Jaipur had already deteriorated.
Weather conditions analysis
Before the flight from Pune, crew took the weather of Delhi and Jaipur which was within the aerodrome operating minima. During flight, crew obtained the weather of Delhi and recorded visibility 2800m, TEMPO 32020G40Kts 1500. Flight was continued to Delhi, however, due to deteriorating weather, crew initiated holding at FL170 in coordination with ATC. As weather was not improving, hence crew kept holding for about 01 hrs 09 mins. During holding, crew obtained the weather of Jaipur at 1430UTC, 1530 UTC and 1558 UTC. At 1558 UTC, the visibility at rwy 27 Jaipur started dropping to 2800 HZ with tempo of 29015G25Kts TSRA.
The crew initiated diversion to Jaipur at 1619UTC and started descending, however they did not assess the deterioration of weather at Jaipur and continued approach. The aircraft could not land at Jaipur due to deteriorated weather. Aircraft initiated diversion to Gwalior at 1701UTC and declared MAYDAY FUEL to ATC at 1709 UTC. Crew obtain the Gwalior weather at around 1720UTC, visibility 6000m No-sig pattern. Aircraft landed Gwalior at 1732 UTC.
It is inferred that, weather was the contributory factor for prolonged holding over Delhi airspace which further resulted in declaration of MAYDAY fuel.
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