January 5, 1969
Gatwick Airport, London, England
Ariana Afghan Airlines, Flight 701
Boeing B-727-113C
YA-FAR
The aircraft descended below the glide slope and crashed into trees and a house short
of the runway killing 50 of 65 aboard and 2 on the ground. Incorrect setting of flaps and
instruments.
LAC = London Airways Control
GA = Gatwick Approach
??= unknown.
CPT = Captain
F/O = First Officer
F/E = Flight Engineer
[RT] = Radio transmission
| 01.13 | LAC: | Gatwick's runway visual range is 100 meters ... er ... confirm your point of landing now. |
| CPT: [RT] |
Roger, we are trying ... er ... to Gatwick, we'll see later. | |
| LAC: | 701. I didn't get that. Again, please. | |
| CPT: [RT] |
I say again ... er ... we are trying in Gatwick, 701. | |
| LAC: | [asks 701 to maintain height and course to Mayfield beacon and then on to Gatwick] | |
| LAC: | Gatwick visual range is 100 meters. | |
| LAC: | [says that Runway 27 is the Runway to be used] | |
| CPT: [RT] |
Gatwick. The runway 27. | |
| 01.20 | LAC: | [gives permission to descend to 8,000ft ] |
| 01.23 | LAC: | 701, London. I just checked Gatwick. The runway remains ... the range remains at ... er ... 100 meters and there's no sign of improvement at the moment. |
| CPT: [RT] |
We'll try Gatwick ... er ... if we cannot make it at Gatwick will it be OK if we go to Heathrow? | |
| LAC: | [acknowledges the question and clears the flight to 5,000ft with a direct course to Mayfield beacon] | |
| 01.27 | GA: | Gatwick weather - surface wind is calm. Met visibility is five zero 50 meters in freezing fog. Runway visual range is equal to 100 one zero zero meters. Temperature is -3. |
| CPT: [RT] |
[acknowledges runway number and barometric pressure] | |
| GA: | Er ... 701, do you wish to make an approach? | |
| CPT: [RT] |
That's affirmative. | |
| GA: | [clears 701 down to 2,000ft] | |
| CPT: | It's ground fog, not air fog. | |
| ??: | Yeah, once you get in it you have to be very fucking slick. | |
| F/E: | I suppose it'll be known as freezing fog, not moving. | |
| GA: | [directs 701 for a runway course] | |
| CPT: | Alter course. | |
| CPT: | What's the minimum? | |
| F/O: | Minimum? | |
| CPT: | Yeah. | |
| F/O: | Gatwick ....er, minimum two hundred [cloud base] and a half mile [visual range]. | |
| CPT: | Two hundred and a half. | |
| CPT: | What's the sea level? We don't see the ... | |
| GA: | 701 ... er ... in event of an overshot will you be wishing to go back to Mayfield or proceed to London? | |
| CPT: [RT] |
Er ... proceed to Mayfield then proceed to London, 701. | |
| 01.29 | LAC : | [tells 701 that they're at 13 DME] |
| CPT: | Flaps two. | |
| CPT: | Flaps five. | |
| F/O: | Outer marker number one identified. | |
| F/O: | Roger, put flaps one five. | |
| F/O: [RT] |
[tells approach that 701 is established on the localizer] | |
| GA: | [clears 701 to descend from 2,000ft] | |
| GA: | In the event of ... er ... overshoot, climb on runway heading to 2,000ft. | |
| CPT: | What is the flap? | |
| F/O: | Flaps at fifteen ... glideslope alive. | |
| CPT: | Gear down. | |
| F/O: | Gear is coming down. | |
| F/O: | What's that red light? | |
| CPT: | Yeah, that's the light at the end of 09. [it was actually a hazard warning light on top of a hill short of the runway] | |
| F/O: | [asks the engineer if the stabilizer out of trim warning light went on and to set the bug points on the airspeed indicator to 114kts and 124kts] | |
| F/E: | V Ref set at 114 at your side. | |
| F/O: | 124 set. | |
| F/E: | Anti skid five releases. | |
| F/O: | Gear down and three green lights. | |
| 01.32 | F/E: | Stand by for the flaps |
| F/E: | [says that flaps should have been going to 25 and 40 degrees] | |
| GA: | [gives 701 clearance to land] | |
| GA: | Runway visual range still 100 meters. | |
| GA: | [acknowledges 701 over the outer marker] | |
| CPT: | Flaps three zero. | |
| CPT: | Three zero coming down. | |
| 01.33 | F/O: | Four hundred feet. |
| CPT: | Four hundred feet? | |
| F/O: | Yes, we have four hundred feet. | |
| [Sound of full power being applied] | ||
| F/O: | We're finished! |