Bhoja Airlines flight 213, a Boeing 737-200, crashed after encountering windshear while on approach to Islamabad Airport, Pakistan, killing all 127 occupants. Bhoja Airlines flight B4213 departed Karachi (KHI) at 17:05 on a domestic flight to Islamabad (ISB). This was the inaugural evening flight for the airline on this route. The flight climbed to a cruising altitude of FL310 and continued towards Islamabad. Weather at the destination was poor due to a passing thunderstorm. At 18:19 the captain at a distance observed the squall line. Moments later the flight was cleared to descend to FL200. During the descent the captain and first officer discussed the weather. They were worried about the severity of the thunderstorm ahead. At 18:26 the first officer contacted Islamabad Approach and received clearance for the One Foxtrot arrival for an ILS approach to runway 30. After receiving further descent clearance the first officer discussed opportunities to approach the airfield through a gap in the squall line. The Approach controller gave radar vectors and descent instructions to fly through the gap in the storm. At 18:35, Islamabad Approach gave a weather update and said "Bhoja 213 surface wind at Islamabad ah is varying between 180° to 270°, 10 kts and ah sometimes gusting to 20 kts and runway condition is wet, light drizzle is ah uhm going on, braking action not known". Two minutes later the airplane entered the squall line. Although the Bhoja Air Operational Manual prohibited flight in these conditions, the captain decided to continue. The airplane was configured for the approach with flaps and slats selected and the undercarriage was down. The first officer then reported the speed to be 220 knots, which was 30 knots higher than the recommended speed. The captain reacted surprised as he did not expect this because the he was flying with the auto-throttle engaged. Likely the increase in speed was a result of windshear. The aircraft then entered the active weather cell
Specifications
General Characteristics
- Predecessor Nord Air 737-200
- Created On Windows
- Wingspan 92.6ft (28.2m)
- Length 106.7ft (32.5m)
- Height 38.3ft (11.7m)
- Empty Weight 45,602lbs (20,684kg)
- Loaded Weight 125,365lbs (56,864kg)
Performance
- Power/Weight Ratio 0.824
- Wing Loading 87.4lbs/ft2 (426.6kg/m2)
- Wing Area 1,434.6ft2 (133.3m2)
- Drag Points 12909
Parts
- Number of Parts 525
- Control Surfaces 7
- Performance Cost 2,486