A day in the office of a 737

Taken from the original FB post…

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Minuteman said:

The Aviation Herald

Aviation Herald - News, Incidents and Accidents in Aviation
avherald.com avherald.com

“A Tri-M.G. Intra Asia Airlines Boeing 737-300 freighter, registration PK-YGW performing flight GM-515 from Kolkata (India) to Paro (Bhutan), was on approach to Paro's runway 33 when the crew received a "BANK ANGLE" warning as well as a GPWS "Sink Rate! Pull Up!" warning but continued the approach resulting in a hard touch down.

According to Unicef the aircraft was carrying Moderna vaccines to Bhutan that were donated to Bhutan within the COVAX initiative.

The aircraft remained on the ground in Paro for about 16 hours, then departed for the next sector to Bangkok (Thailand).”

Here's a better version of the same approach (kinda sounds like they inhibit terrain alerting):

Click to expand...


Airbus is a superior machine.
 
Paro is for sure one of the most difficult airports to operate into in all of Asia, and famous for it. Especially in the summer when it can get hot and the density altitude is a factor. Due to the challenges of operating into that airport, Druk Air (the national carrier) was for many years the only airline authorized to operate there. They used RJ70s for years, and before they were allowed to add A319s, there was extensive testing in cooperation with Airbus. New pilots at Druk Air (I know an FO over there) spend a while in the jumpseat (years) getting paid just as observers for flights before they're allowed to attempt the approach. Bhutan Airlines was recently started in 2011 as a 2nd carrier in the country, and also operates Airbuses and is the only other carrier authorized for regular scheduled service. Getting other arrivals, be them charter flights, cargo flights, or even private jets, are a bit of an event for the airport. These guys were unprofessional as hell, and hilariously so, but this airport is no cake walk. I'll ask if there is a point where you are 100% committed to landing as I am not sure off the top of my head.
 
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ChasenSFO said:
Paro is for sure one of the most difficult airports to operate into in all of Asia, and famous for it. Especially in the summer when it can get hot and the density altitude is a factor. Due to the challenges of operating into that airport, Druk Air (the national carrier) was for many years the only airline authorized to operate there. They used RJ70s for years, and before they were allowed to add A319s, there was extensive testing in cooperation with Airbus. New pilots at Drunk Air (I know an FO over there) spend a while in the jumpseat (years) getting paid just as observers for flights before they're allowed to attempt the approach. Bhutan Airlines was recently started in 2011 as a 2nd carrier in the country, and also operates Airbuses and is the only other carrier authorized for regular scheduled service. Getting other arrivals, be them charter flights, cargo flights, or even private jets, are a bit of an event for the airport. These guys were unprofessional as hell, and hilariously so, but this airport is no cake walk. I'll ask if there is a point where you are 100% committed to landing as I am not sure off the top of my head.
Click to expand...
Drunk air? I will pass!
 
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