B738, vicinity Chuuk Micronesia, 2018

B738, vicinity Chuuk Micronesia, 2018

Summary

On 28 September 2018, a Boeing 737-800 was flown into the sea short of the intended landing runway at Chuuk during a non-precision approach which was continued below MDA without having obtained the required visual reference. The Investigation found that the Captain s approach had become unstable soon after autopilot disconnection and an excessive rate of descent had taken the aircraft below the indicated glideslope and below MDA despite multiple EGPWS  Sink Rate aural Alerts and a visual-only  PULL UP Warning with impact following 22 seconds after passing MDA. The absence of an aural  PULL UP Warning was considered significant.

Description

On 28 September 2018, a Boeing 737-800 (P2-PXE) being operated by Air Niugini on a domestic passenger flight from Pohnpei to Chuuk as PX73 impacted the sea 460 metres prior to the threshold of the intended destination landing runway 04 in day IMC after continuing its approach below MDA. All but one of the 47 occupants exited the aircraft before it sank and were promptly rescued. The body of the passenger who did not exit the aircraft was subsequently recovered from the wreckage. Six of the surviving passengers sustained serious injuries and the remainder of the passengers and all crew members were uninjured. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and subsequent submersion in salt water.

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