Download the full NTSB report Transcript of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) “I suggest we shut it down on short final,” said Curtis. He also experienced difficulties during training. I study the case and the main reason was the flight engineer which he was American that he failed to depressuriz the cabin so they couldn’t open the doors First of all I’m sorry about your mother but I think you are racist to but the blame on Arabs We may never know. The resulting fire overpowered the protective panels on the ceiling of the cargo compartment and allowed fire to burn into the passenger cabin. While Khowyter shut down the engine, Hasanain again confirmed that the fire trucks were in position. So you have to plame your people for being dumb not the Arabs. The crew continued … “Now number two is stuck there, so something is wrong with it,” Khowyter said. The Captain did not realize the urgency of the rapidly building cargo fire. The pilots acknowledged, and shortly afterward the engines were finally shut down. “The ventilation is not working in that one,” said Khowyter. In fact, the fire had partially melted the plastic insulation around the cable connecting the throttle to the tail-mounted number two engine, causing the cable to jam. “Cleared to reverse course to Riyadh,” said the controller, “and, request reason?”. Factors contributing to the final fatal results of this accident were, Tags: Cargo Fire • CRM • Evacuation • Fire • Human Factor • L1011 • Landing • Lockheed • Riyadh • Saudi Arabia • Saudi Arabian. “How many passengers?” Hasanain asked, turning to Khowyter. All 287 passengers and 14 crew on board the Lockheed L-1011-200 TriStar registered HZ-AHK, died after the aircraft made an emergency landing back at the Riyadh … It couldn’t have helped that Curtis’s dyslexia made it a struggle for him to read. “To take the carts down to be out of the way?”. 20 years ago today, Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763 (HZ-AIH) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, India to Dhahran International Airport, Saudi Arabia. A missing plane, a cabin full of suspects, a search for truth. Alerting the captain to the problem, Curtis said, “B aft cargo…”. Just make sure to check your inbox.If you don't receive an email within 10 minutes, check also your spam folder. “Both A and B aft cargo smoke detection,” Curtis repeated. “In the, ah, the fire extinguisher,” said Curtis. “I would leave it the way it is, sir,” said Curtis. While Hasanain called out navigational information, Curtis kept muttering to himself, “no problem, no problem, no problem at all.”. Most of these passengers were heading to Jeddah to participate in the hajj, because Jeddah is the main international gateway for travelers to Mecca. In trying to explain the pilots’ grave errors, the investigation naturally turned to their training histories. wreckage of Saudi Arabian L1011 (HZ-AHK) flight SV163. Another two fire extinguishers might have been used as well, but were too badly damaged to determine if they had been discharged. Death toll is highest of any aviation accident in Saudi Arabia and the highest of any involving a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. Breaking his silence, Hasanain said, “Strange, no procedure for it…”, “No procedure for it?” Khowyter said, pausing momentarily. “Yeah, I am looking for it now,” said Curtis, leafing through the handbook looking for the appropriate checklist for this situation. “Negative,” said Khowyter. The pilots made more final pre-landing configuration adjustments. “it’s stuck, present EPR.”. Then, an in-flight fire broke out and forced the plane to return to the Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the flight attendants repeated their message over the PA. “Will all passengers remain in their seats and fasten seat belts,” she said. There were plenty of indications from the flight attendants that the situation was dire, but he might not have heard these, or perhaps he was lulled into a false sense of security by Flight Engineer Curtis’ repeated assertions that there was “no problem” and that things were under control. Saudia Flight 163 19 August 1980, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Lockheed L-1011 Tristar In-flight fire followed by successful landing Passengers: 287 Crew: 14 Survivors: 0 If Chicken Little tells you that the sky is fallin' Even if it wasn't would you … Saudia flight 163 was a regularly scheduled flight from Karachi, Pakistan to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with a stopover in Riyadh, operated by Saudi Arabia’s … Uncontained Cargo Fire Leading to Loss of Control Inflight and Uncontrolled Descent Into Terrain. Analyzer of plane crashes and author of upcoming book (soon™). A flight attendant entered the cockpit yet again. “Do you want us to evacuate passengers, captain?”, “Do you want us to evacuate the passengers as soon as we stop?”. “Move out of the way, everybody sit down, move out of the aisle, there is no danger from the airplane, everybody stay in their seats!” Switching to Urdu, she added, “Sit on your seat, sit on your seat, ladies and gentlemen take your seat — nothing will happen to aircraft! “Tell them we’re returning back.”, “We are sixty miles out,” said Khowyter. Meanwhile, Khowyter and Hasanain prepared for landing. First Officer Hasanain was also a complete non-presence who tended to speak only when ordered to do so by Captain Khowyter. For some reason, Curtis tested the alarm system again. But the investigation still made numerous recommendations, including the aforementioned change to the cargo compartment classification. But the flight attendants never attempted to open the doors — either they had been told not to, or they couldn’t reach them. They also knew next to nothing about the Lockheed L-1011 or how to operate its many exterior doors. First Officer Hasanain broke his silence to ask, “What’s going on?” It is apparent at this point that Curtis’ lack of specificity was confusing the other pilots. He never ordered First Officer Hasanain to declare an emergency. “L4, R4, L3, R3,” she commanded, “open the cabinet and use all your fire extinguishers and the CO2!”. Eventually Curtis interjected again. I have tried to read and research every article available on this. It was rapidly becoming clear that this was a serious situation which warranted their undivided attention. Changing the subject, Khowyter said, “Where is the airport? Khowyter went back to singing. Khowyter further asked, “Did you turn it to the other one?” What he meant here is not at all clear. Meanwhile in the cockpit, the captain and first officer continued discussing the situation. “It’s just smoke in the aft,” he said. This article was originally posted to Reddit on 13 July 2019. In practice, however, the materials from which the compartment was made proved insufficient to actually contain a fire. To the other flight attendants, she ordered, “Girls, demonstrate impact position, girls, demonstrate impact position.”. Curtis kept fiddling with the smoke alarms. “Okay, now number two engine is stuck,” said Khowyter, as though noticing for the first time. Now on final approach, the pilots set the flaps for landing, while someone continued to speak over the PA, ordering the passengers to be seated. Anyway, flight Saudia #SV163 was about to take off with 301 people onboard, including 15 infants. “Stop ventilation,” Khowyter ordered. Like any other air carrier aircraft the outflow valves should open automatically on touchdown with the landing gear squat switch. “No problem,” said Curtis. “Okay, it will be one six zero,” said Curtis. “I would say so, yeah,” he said. Hasanain, in addition to being young and inexperienced, probably shouldn’t have been in a cockpit at all. Captain Khowyter spent the next few moments urging First Officer Hasanain to tell the controllers where exactly the fire was located, until he finally did so. Of all the cockpit crew, Curtis seemed to be the most cognizant of the danger they were in, but Khowyter’s comment that the flight engineer was a “jackass” or “donkey” suggests that he did not look beyond Curtis’ human faults to see that his advice was actually useful. “No indication of smoke, however, the cabin is filled with smoke in the back,” said Curtis. ACCIDENT Saudi… Inside the cabin, passengers flooded toward the forward exits while smoke rolled down the aisles. See the full gallery. In 1977 he was one of several previously dropped trainees who were reinstated by committee action, and he was finally hired in 1978. Deadliest aviation disaster not involving a crash on impact or a mid-flight break-up. This offer was accepted and he was back with Saudia as a flight engineer in 1979. On the PA, the flight attendant could be heard saying, “Give me your attention please, be seated ladies and gentlemen, we are about to land — there’s no reason to panic!” Of course, both she and the passengers probably knew that there was every reason to panic. Apparently desperate, he offered to pay for his own training to become a flight engineer if Saudia would rehire him afterward. Again, it is unclear what he was referring to. The Saudi pilot did NOT stop the airplane for two minutes after touch down, and then would NOT shut down the engines for three additional minutes. Moronic comment. At least five empty Co2 extinguishers and at least one water extinguisher were found in the wreckage of the cabin, strewn near the area where the fire originated. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Michael Busby, an American defense contractor, owned a villa overlooking the airport and watched the accident unfold. I frequently took SV 163 home to Jeddah, and that day I was asked to stay on in Riyadh for a few more days. “Okay, cleared back,” said the controller. “As soon as we land, sir, I suggest that we turn off all fuel valves.”, “Okay,” said Khowyter. Hasanain keyed his mic and said, “Riyadh, one six three, we got the runway in sight, are we cleared to land?”. It wasn’t long before things started to go wrong. The injured flight attendants were transferred to hospitals for treatments. The flight attendant went on the PA again. Moments later, a flashover caused accumulated gases to combust, and fire rolled down the length of the plane, forcing the firefighters to retreat. Delta Air Lines Flight 191 has the second highest death toll of any aviation accident involving a Lockheed L-1011 anywhere in the world after Saudia Flight 163. A little over one minute had now passed since the smoke alarm first activated. “I’m gonna be, shut it down.”, But just when he was about to act, Curtis said, “Well, not yet, not yet, not yet!”. The source of ignition of the fire is undetermined. Oh, but it’s not racist to blame Westerners as you put it? What he was trying to do is left up to the imagination. The firefighters at Riyadh international airport had never fought an aircraft fire before, neither in the line of duty nor in a simulation. Subscribe our Newsletter ! Kudos on mentioning the flight attendants. Be the first to contribute! “Well, go put it out!” Curtis suggested, although this was a totally useless suggestion. A flight attendant entered the cockpit once again. Saudia 163 overview.jpg 250 × 165; 37 KB. Back in the cabin, flight attendants had grabbed six fire extinguishers from the front of the airplane and were discharging them one by one into the fire in a futile attempt to quench the inferno. “I just want to confirm it, I know it god damn it,” said Khowyter. While Hasanain informed the tower that they had shut down an engine, the flight attendant went back on the PA yet again to give final brace instructions. As a result of the recommendations, Saudia did make changes to pilot training and closed ventilation outlets to and from the C-3 cargo compartment on its L-1011s. I lived in Saudi for nine years: Oct 76-Sep 85 Jeddah and Riyadh. He asserted in a 2010 article that the reason flight 163 had not come to a stop and evacuated immediately was the presence of the Saudi king’s Boeing 747, which he observed was about to take off right as flight 163 was arriving. Saudia Flight 163 was a scheduled passenger flight of Saudia that caught fire after takeoff from Riyadh International Airport (now the Riyadh Air Base) on a flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 19 August 1980. “Should I just go back there and see if I can find anything or smell anything?” Somehow, he failed to find the checklist even though he did look in the right section of the handbook, under ‘abnormal procedures.’. He had to repeat this twice to be understood. The long extended time to shut down the engines and evacuate the aircraft clearly rests on the shoulders of the Saudia Captain, who was probably in a state of shock and denial of the exigency of the situation. Captain Khowyter had been a pilot for Saudia since 1965, but had only recently switched to flying L-1011s and had just 388 hours on the aircraft type. 21 minutes after the first fire alarm, Saudia flight 163 touched down smoothly on the runway in Riyadh. “We’re about to land, ladies and gentlemen, place your hands behind your head for impact!” she said. At Riyadh International Airport, fire trucks scrambled to intercept the incoming L-1011. American Airlines Flight 191. As has been mentioned it is possible that the outflow vales were melted closed by the fire. What exactly happened in the cockpit after this will never be known. As the approach continued, Curtis said, “We definitely want — we definitely, we definitely want preference to land.”, “We definitely want preference to land, that’s for sure.”, “Yeah,” said Khowyter. “Okay, get the landing weight, boy,” Khowyter said to Curtis, who was notably his senior. 7 minutes after takeoff, one of the two fire alarms (A and B) in the rear C-3 cargo compartment went off, alerting Flight Engineer Curtis to the presence of a fire. Saudi Arabian flight SV163 : it was around 1808 GMT on August 19, 1980, when Saudi Arabian Airlines, Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, departed Riyadh, Saudi Arabia enroute to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In the back of the passenger cabin, smoke was already seeping out of the cargo hold, catching the attention of passengers seated in the last few rows on the left side. He claimed that fire trucks were also prevented from responding due to the presence of the king, but every other witness clearly saw fire trucks chasing the L-1011 down the runway and gathering around it as soon as it came to a stop. Notably, 16 years later, Saudia was involved in an even deadlier accident in the skies over India when a fully loaded Saudia Boeing 747 collided in midair with a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76, killing all 349 people on both aircraft. By this point, judging by the flight attendant’s comments, the raging fire in the cargo hold had apparently burned through the cabin floor near the last rows of seats on the left side. While parked on the taxiway, the aircraft was destroyed by the fire and the three hundred and one persons on board the flight were killed. Smoke detection, B aft cargo!” Curtis said again, apparently still assessing the situation for himself. “There is no, any procedure for the two engine, it’s the same as three,” he added, confirming that there were no special steps needed to land with only two engines. Link to Wikipedia: Saudia Flight 163. The flight landed at about 1836 and then taxied clear of the runway and came to a stop on an adjacent taxiway. The fire burned through the ceiling of the compartment and into the passenger cabin. There followed a confusing exchange between Hasanain and Khowyter in which Hasanain repeatedly mentioned the “first people” that they had been “talking about,” although Khowyter never seemed to figure out what his first officer meant. Saudia Flight 162 was a scheduled flight from Dhahran International Airport, Saudi Arabia to Karachi International Airport, Pakistan that suffered a high-altitude uncontrolled decompression, above international waters off Qatar, killing 2 children who were among the 272 passengers. In 1977 he managed to become a first officer on the 737 but was fired after failing a check ride in 1978. Evacuation procedures were never practiced during simulator training. “Okay,” said Khowyter, “As soon as possible we’re gonna be down.”. Flight Engineer Bradley Curtis, a US citizen, had worked for Saudia since 1974 but had only been certified on the L-1011 for three months and had 157 hours on the type. 21 minutes after the first fire alarm, Saudia flight 163 touched down smoothly on the runway in Riyadh. In 1975, he had been dropped from Saudia’s pilot training program due to poor progress. “I’ll keep your speed up as long as possible,” Curtis said to Khowyter, possibly explaining the reason for his desire to keep the stuck number two engine running. “Uh… we better go, go back to Riyadh.”. A Saudia L-1011 was heading for Karachi, Pakistan on the 19 th of August, 1980. One of the most important steps in an emergency landing with a fire on board is to make sure the flight attendants are ready for an immediate evacuation, but Khowyter seemed entirely nonchalant. Suddenly, Captain Khowyter observed a new problem while trying to reduce thrust for the descent into the airport. He and Hasanain were now going through the approach checklist. “All passengers remain in your seats!” the flight attendant said over the PA again, in Arabic. “We don’t know exactly, think we have full load,” Hasanain told the controller. 8/19/1980. The investigation was unable to conclusively determine the reason for the delay, but there are a couple of possibilities. The L-1011 rolled down the runway for two minutes and forty seconds, while fire engines chased along behind. For some reason he announced the activation of the smoke alarm again. A flight attendant entered the cockpit and asked, “Do we have time to take the carts back?” She was referring to the serving carts, which had been taken out of their storage space in the downstairs galley, accessed via the galley elevator. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Air BC – British Aerospace Bae146-200 (C-FBAB) flight ABL597, Northwest Airlines – Boeing B727-200 (N278US) flight NWA434, Biman Bangladesh Airlines – Bombardier Dash8 Q400 (S2-AGQ) flight BG060, Spicejet – Boeing B737-800 (VT-SGK) flight SG622, All Nippon Airways – Boeing B767-300 (JA8674) flight NH883, the failure of the Captain to properly utilize his, the failure of C/F/R headquarters management personnel to insure that its personnel had adequate. The names of the flight attendants on board Saudia flight 163, who so desperately fought to prevent the tragedy, are listed below, and this article is dedicated to them. The engine hadn’t failed — it was still running, but they couldn’t change the power setting. It is also the deadliest aviation disaster that did not involve a crash on impact or mid-flight break up. METEROLOGICAL INFORMATION At the time of the accident, the weather at the airport was clear. To Hasanain, he asked, “Where is the runway? There is reason to doubt Busby’s account of events, however. The Presidency of Civil Aviation determines that the probable cause of this accident was the initiation of fire in the C-3 Cargo compartment. The pilots’ final transmission, in which they said that they were “trying to evacuate now,” also doesn’t support the idea that the crew waited for the king’s departure, since the 747 had not yet taken off at that time. Everybody’s panicking in the back though,” he added, apparently having observed passengers fleeing the fire. “Affirmative, you are number one, cleared for approach and you can continue tower one eighteen one,” said the approach controller, transferring them to the tower controller. Your email address will not be published. The door was in fact closed. This website uses cookies to improve your experience.
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