How One Bad Decision Crashed This Plane | 2009 Aviastar Mandirini Crash

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This is the story of the Aviastar mandirini bae 146 crash. On the 9th of april 2009, a bae 146 was on the ground at Sentani airport in indonesia and it was flying to wamena airport in papua. On that flight that day were two pilots, a cargo load master, two flight attendants and an engineer. The plane took off from sentani and headed for wamena airport. At first the plane was in IFR or instrument flight rules but there were no instrument approaches into wamena so they switched to visual rules as they got closer to wamena.
As the pilots approached wamena they saw that the clouds were low to the ground in and around the airport. As the plane flew over the hilly terrain of wamena the pilots got a terrain warning. Once the pilots had lined up with the runway they let ATC know that they had the runway in sight. But The approach did not look right, the captain couldnt get the plane where he wanted it to be so he said “we are overshooting”, right as he said this they got a sink rate warning telling them that they were descending way too fast for this approach. That sink rate warning quickly changed to a whoop whoop pull up. This is basically the plane telling the pilots to pull up and climb away due to terrain conflicts ahead. The first officer shouted over shoot overhsoot, asking the captain to go around. so the pilots decided to go around. As the bae 146 went around the pilots stayed on the extended centerline for a bit. The controller gave them two options either they could land on runway 33 or they could land on runway 15, they opted for runway 15. The pilots chose runway 15. they then began a turn to the right to get on the downwind leg of the circuit. The pilots were talking among themselves about the best way to get back on the runway. From the ground the plane was hidden from view as the clouds around Wamena swallowed the aircraft. The bae 146 was low to the ground as it flew around the circuit back to runway 15. So low in fact that they got a few too low terrains and a few pull up warnings. But the jet streaked through the sky over wamena. As they passed abeam of runway 15 the pilots put the plane into a right hand bank to line up with the runway again. As the plane made the turn the pilots were using visual references to make sure that they were making the turn correctly. The first officer said “Ok river in sight” and “pike hill” in sight as he saw the important landmarks on this approach.
The bae 146 continued to turn inorder to line up towards the runway. The first officer said said “ becareful sir” and a third voice in the cockpit added “there is a hill on the left”. That quickly grew into genuine concern as a hill appeared right in front of them. The piots immediately pushed all 4 engines to max power. The four engines responded as fast as they could and the captain put the plane into al left bank inorder to avoid the mountain that was right in front of them. The automated warning in the cockpit screamed dont sink dont sink, but as the bank of the plane grew more extreme the nose of dropped. The first officer was not saying “dont sink”. The first officer called for another left turn in order to avoid the mounatins but the nose of the plane was dropping. The cockpit was flooded with warings. Some of them said “too low terrain” others said “bank angle” And the final one said “terrain terrain” . The BAE 146 slammed into a mountain going a 146 knots in a right left hand bank. None of the 6 people on board survived.
The wreck of the plane was situated 3.55 nautical miles from the runway at wamena airport and a post impact fire destroyed the wreck. The investigators were able to ascertain that the plane was in one piece and that it wasn't on fire before the impact. Which just left one question on everyone's minds. If the runway was over there how did the plane end up all the way over here?

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

Happy 4th of July!

[@kommandantgalileo]

'MURICA!

[@ThatOneMexicanDude]

a

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

thanks???

[@dann5480]

Black day

[@grmpEqweer]

@@kommandantgalileo Time to celebrate the freedom we have left.🇺🇸

[@BunkerFox]

There's always something bitter sweet with how you end your videos with the plane successfully landing at the airport

[@HeidenLam]

Definitely, I personally think it’s one of the factors that made his content stand out from the other creators

[@dann5480]

Thanks for the spoiler genius

[@oxcart4172]

I'm glad it's not just me. That always gives me chills

[@virginiaviola5097]

That’s exactly what I was going to comment on..bittersweet is the perfect word for it.

[@BGI_guy]

@@dann5480 then don't read the comments while watching, genius

[@gora2497]

Papuan terrain is very demanding for aviators. Abrupt weather change, spiky hills dotting here and there, and airfields with below minimum equipment. Great job on making this video!

[@truesimplicity]

Training manuals and procedural updates, written in pilots blood... Very hard ways to learn lessons, nothing's perfect. Excellent content, clear message.

[@CLR2TKF]

Not that complex. Just another asshole captain who thinks he is above everyone else.

[@emanggitulah4319]

Papua is a bit infamous for inexperienced pilots trying to gain the necessary hours needed flying for bigger airlines later on. The problem for the people there is that you don't have much of a choice. There are hardly any roads outside of the bigger cities, though some are being build at the moment.

[@royharper9472]

This is my favorite channel in this genre. You are easy to listen to, not pretensive or accusatory, sensitive to victims. BEST PART, you get right to the story with no fluff ...well done !

[@AaronSmith-kr5yf]

My theory is the Captain was just flying by the seat of his pants, ignoring his instruments, tuning out the blaring warnings and concerns of his crew. Since the clouds were in so low, he didn't want to gain altitude where he'd be up in the clouds and lose visual reference. At least that's my theory. Also comes back to crew resource management and lack thereof. In their culture(Asian, Indian and middle eastern) you NEVER question your elders, senior officer, boss, etc. Retribution can be brutal, like losing your job and being blackballed if the guy is a real jerk. Or even being thrown into prison for a few years depending on the situation. So a lot of times these first officers just don't have the balls to speak up, question the captain, much less take control of the plane/situation, even when lives are on the line.

[@TheRealNatNat]

Mine as well, he wanted to keep visual reference.

[@CLR2TKF]

That's why I will never fly on the airlines of those countries.

[@ginjazz2836]

My theory is they just fucked up

[@juliemanarin4127]

A very selfish and narcissistic act by that pilot!

[@DesiVeer010]

Though a slight difference: Indian aviation industry isn't concerned in any way with the culture. Our pilots always take independent decisions, and if control is abruptly taken by F/O, he/she just has to provide a proper justification for their actions. Though, some airlines make flying risky by cutting costs & facilities.

[@mbryson2899]

I think you are correct that complacency contributed to or caused the crash. I rode motorcycles for decades, with many people. Two wrecks of riders I knew stand out because both riders were skilled, seasoned, and both were on roads they knew very, very well. Both times unanticipated variables (a pea gravel spill and and unusual accretion of wet pine needles to a blocked roadside drain) took them out. They were so used to the roads being predictable as far as traction that the sudden change caused mayhem. One slid into the oncoming lane where he was hit by an oncoming heavy pickup. The other slid and tumbled down a steep slope; he was critically injured, permanently crippled, and never rode again. Familiarity breeds contempt...and overconfidence...and reverting to reactions that may not apply. Be safe, everyone.

[@kneel1]

thats crazy, airports have specific go-around altitudes. I cant believe this captain just flew it willy-nilly. with hills around!

[@daszieher]

And clouds blocking the view. Almost a suicide.

[@realulli]

In a 208, doing 70 kts, he might have done it. A -146 doing 150 kts needs quite a bit more room...

[@aniruthdinesh9156]

That's how I flew in simulator when I was a beginner

[@willemferguson909]

I am always impressed by your detailed research and presentation. Thank you for doing these productions

[@joshualandry3160]

Actually, continued VFR into IMC sounds like a huge factor. You don't scud run a jet like that. If a few hundred feet were all they had for a pattern they did not have sufficient visibility and ceiling to conduct a contact approach.

[@a24396]

Oh boy... So many bad practices and decisions illustrated in this video. For example, on a go-around - does a min-safe altitude EVER cause a "Terrain - Too Low" or a ""Don't Sink" ECAS warning? Answer: NO!! So if you get a terrain alarm you need to immediately react as though it's a valid conflict! Great video, really important lessons to learn from it. Thanks so much for posting!

[@stephenbritton9297]

Best climb rate is achieve in TOGA, wings level, pulling up on the edge of the stick shaker activating. All the banking reduces climb. Mentour (Petr) did a great simulator video on this a while back.

[@scottjuhnke6825]

Not really sure how you become desensitized to the GPWS warnings. It seems to me that if you hear them a lot, you need to address your approach to those areas where they are frequently occurring.

[@realulli]

Watch Missionary Bush pilot. He is flying to several airports that are not in the charts. He disables the GPWS before going there because it would go nuts, flooding him with warnings before a perfectly normal touchdown.

[@chootanf]

kinda hard to explain, but it all comes down to poor terrain database in Indonesia's aviation. Back then not much of Indonesia's mountainous terrain are decently recorded, let alone the remote eastern part of Indonesia such as Papua. The lack of data eventually will cause the GPWS to emit warnings that are pretty unnecessary for pilots as most pilots there understand that the warnings tends to sound in a situation where it's actually not dangerous, such as a perfectly safe landing. Hence why there are pilots who have become desensitized (such as the ones in Trigana Air 267 crash)

[@hbtm2951]

Maybe he was exhausted not from hearing but phisically?

[@wilsjane]

@@chootanf When you know that the terrain ahead is descending, everything will be fine, but going around with tight turns changes everything. I imagine that the pilots biggest fear was flying into the clouds and loosing his visual references, then descending to find a mountain straight ahead. He should have taken the go around above the clouds and used a larger circle with slower turns, before making his second approach. But this is not as easy as it sounds when you are not fully trained in instrument navigation.

[@3chords490]

I’m no pilot or anything but I’ve seen enough videos like this to know that altitude is your friend. Why do so many pilots forget this?

[@MechMK1]

Probably because in this scenario, clouds were hanging low and losing visual on the runway may have required yet another go-around. Staying close to the ground to maintain visual seemed like the "more sensible" option.

[@johndaniels4623]

Man, I wish I had the computer/graphics card you do. Your videos make FS2020 as close to real as possible

[@starwarzchik112]

Reminds me of that one you did where the pilot was too busy chewing out the FO to notice the mountain…

[@mikecarroll5853]

Do you suppose the Captain was trying to stay under the cloud cover to keep a visual on the airport. Yikes

[@briant7265]

I was thinking the same. I don't have any other "logical" reason to fly at treetop level.

[@hbtm2951]

This looks like the best guess but it's all we have, must have been a common thing there.

[@Tadesan]

...quickly changed to a 'woop woop' that's the sound of tha police.

[@George_M_]

Too low, too slow, and banking (which costs altitude). Bad navigating, bad flying. Who let these jokers fly a plane?

[@rithvikkumar5391]

"the BAE 146 slammed into a mountain going 146 knots...." What a coincidence

[@spvillano]

Which is notable for how slow they were going at the time of impact.

[@daszieher]

Good thing it was not an A380, a Dreamliner or worse, an Lockheed TriStar 😅

[@patrickflohe7427]

@@daszieher Huh?

[@daszieher]

@@patrickflohe7427 Dreamliner=Boeing 787, Lockheed TriStar=L-1011

[@patrickflohe7427]

@@daszieher I know what they are, but I’m curious what the connection was, with this story. Why would an L-1011 be worse?

[@mikec1163]

I especially love the perspective video from the flight deck- very sobering indeed.

[@kevinbarry71]

If you have to go around you go high enough to do another stabilized approach. Not what these guys did

[@spvillano]

And well above all obstructions and terrain features. It does no good to attempt a stabilized approach if you hit a great honking mountain on the way to that approach. If I kept getting warnings from the copilot and whoever #3 voice was, I'd offer the controls to the copilot and reexamine what I was doing to try to kill us all. Often enough, it's fixation on one's planned approach, rather than paying attention to what's actually going on, a confirmation bias that is recalcitrant to the reality of the situation.

[@savroi]

I would say "too complacent" is an understatement. Under these conditions one might ignore a couple of times? Maybe... but flying so low in this kind of terrain and with that weather is gruesomely arrogant. I am almost sure this is not the first time this captain has done this only this was the time he didn't get away with it. Unfortunately the many systems a modern airplane can count on these days seems to have this effect on some pilots, they forget they are guiding a deadly weapon in a media (the air) that is not reliable at all.

[@hbtm2951]

Questions are: How are they hired, training, mental state all of that and you just jump to the easiest conclusion ever (by reading your comment); pilot's fault. If this was only the captain to blame then why did they change procedures?

[@savroi]

@@hbtm2951 Oh, I agree, I've read and seen videos of countless stories about air crashes, my father died in one when I was four so it has been a subject to which I've dedicated some time. In my opinion the company has a fair share of the blame, too casual and lenient on their training and rules. In this case though the amount of mistakes, specially the dangerously low fly, were the pilots choice. This accident was not the result of one wrong move than can be attributed to bad training, there is that component, had they flown at the right altitude they would have at least the chance to recover from it. I still think they were far too careless. When it comes to the hiring process well, first you need competent people to do this, then again it is not that easy to find well trained pilots for small companies like this one in far away places. The History of aviation is littered with accidents caused by a mix of these two components. Out of the hat I could mention at least 10 accidents that had the same pattern, even from big names in the airline industry. I agree that mental state should be and to some extend is more thoroughly taken into account in the past two decades but it is not that easy to be determined by the company that is hiring. I would put the blame on those who grant a commercial pilot certification and the fact that only a few countries have a strict mandatory follow up on those certifications. In my opinion that can't be left to the airlines.

[@TheAfiation]

Wow I'm as Indonesian just know about this crash. Btw correction for the airline name, its Aviastar Mandiri not Aviastar Mandirini

[@DaveChimny]

I don't think the usual dealing with those warnings was the problem here. The FO and the third person were concerned. They wouldn't if this was normal for them. Of course, I'm just an armchair pilot but "I have control!" was an option the FO had to take. Sadly he can't blame himself for not doing so.

[@spvillano]

I've had my front seat passenger express concerns, a few times, I offered to let them drive and they did. Then, I realized how many mistakes I was making in my fatigue. So, it'd be, "Do you want the airplane?" When he'd say yes, "OK, it's your airplane, I'm monitoring". Likely congratulating him on a good call once situation awareness returned.

[@DaveChimny]

@@spvillano A huge problem (not only in airplanes or cars) is self-confidence. People often think they are fine with the situation but aren't. That's where CRM kicks in: If you think the pilot flying is doing something dangerous, you'll take the plane and discuss that later. At least that's how it's taught.

[@joshualandry3160]

That actually would make the situation more dangerous. Fighting over the controls at 300 ft would be more likely to cause a crash than to solve anything. Proper technique here is to put on the radio "Visibility is too low. We are climbing and diverting." This embarrasses the captain into doing the right thing without setting up a conflict.

[@DaveChimny]

@@joshualandry3160 Of course it's best practice to talk about that beforehand. Apart from that, good CRM also means to take the controls immediately if anything occurs abruptly to prevent things to happen. When your FO takes over the plane the first thing is to let him fly that bird, think about that move and re-gain situational awareness. Then you can still discuss what will be done next. Fighting for controls is bad behaviour. "I have control!", full thrust, speed up (if possible) and climb away. You'd maybe get an award for that, later.

[@joshualandry3160]

@@DaveChimny in the real world it doesn't work. Captain is in charge and any attempt from the fo to take control will be met the captain telling him to shut up. And even if the fo does take control it's career ending. FOs being allowed and encouraged to take control is a myth. It's considered proper as long as their objection is recorded on the voice recorder. The objection is so the captain can make a good decision. Taking control is not considered proper and is not part of any training program.

[@rilmar2137]

There are accidents where shit hits the fan very suddenly. This was not one of them - sounded pretty rough from the very beginning. Complacency kills

[@SS-ce1py]

When I was training to fly, the GPWS would always go off at the same point on the downwind leg in the pattern. There was never any obstruction in the area. Asked my instructor, and he didn't know why it went off. So I just ignored it. However, I was cognizant to realize that this was a bad conditioning response to the GPWS. I think the video suggestion that the crew in this case were probably used to hearing and disregarding the GPWS due to flying in a mountainous environment is spot on.

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

Always loved this plane - flew on one to Guernsey several years ago ❤

[@dukemetzger3784]

Oh absolutely got complacent! I don't think there is anything else that could explain this one!

[@oxcart4172]

The 146 used to be built about 4 miles from me. Unbelievably quiet compared to the Tridents that they replaced!

[@herseem]

I think that's why they were also called the Whisper jet. A friend of mine worked for BAe and I went to a BAe open day at Dunsfold. I was stunned how quiet it was.

[@davidhill5798]

Yes, obvious case of Alarm Fatigue contributed, but the lack of training and lack of discipline were the primary factors.

[@michaelosgood9876]

Ridiculous airmanship! Enough said...

[@manyshnooks]

The thing is that EGPWS *should* suppress warnings if you're close to an airport - there is logic, however rudimentary built into the avionics to prevent spurious warnings. The mapping is that good that most companies will tell their pilots to not even think about it - go straight to terrain escape maneuver (nose up, full power, and pitch to the extent of intermittent stick shaker relaxing to pitching to best climb as the situation develops). They also stress wings level rather then turning away from the low terrain as the reduction in lift from being even in a rate 1 turn is an issue. You obviously want all the climb performance you can get. The other assumption is that this may occur in IMC so they are probably disoriented anyway. I'm sure there are situations where turning makes a lot of sense, but they've obviously assessed it and found that gaining altitude wings level is the best approach. If you were in VMC and could *see* flat terrain clearly to one side, you would likely just have to use your own judgement as these procedures are written for the majority of situations. The argument would be that it'd be extremely difficult to find yourself in such a precarious situation in CAVOK conditions. Given the amount of avionics available on the flight deck in 2022 CFITs are inexcusable in airline transport category aircraft.

[@lukegda]

The "WHOOP WHOOP" was the best 😆

[@aurtisanminer2827]

The audio is sounding great!

[@dianericciardistewart2224]

Great presentation!! Thanks!! 👍✈✈👍

[@clover5172]

"Pilot Ignores First Officer and crashes plane" Hmmm I wonder where I've seen this before

[@babaganoush6106]

hs121 trident staines 'papa india'?

[@seanmchugh840]

Captain - First officer bad psychology once again. Obviously a major issue.

[@asteverino8569]

I like your theory MACI I keep wondering why they didn't know to climb higher for a go around. Also why didn't they look at the altimeter? Either way, they were seemingly complacent about things. Especially the Captain flying!!!

[@briant7265]

They had trouble with altitude on the initial approach. I wonder if they didn't have the plane configured correctly for the approach, or for the go around.

[@AlanTheBest97]

OMG that is one dumb pilot!! Even the standard traffic patters for uncontrolled airfields is 1500ft agl for jets/turboprop, there was no excuse for this one. He should have imediately defauted to this altitude if he wasnt aware of any specifcs for the missed approach before looking it up.

[@michaelmitchell9612]

You mean WAS a dumb pilot!

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

I think, for many pilots , their training highlighted the risks of Accidental VFR into IMC (when you have to switch to instruments on the fly) far more heavily than Terrain avoidance... remember that for many, their primary horse so to speak, (what they had most flight hours on) was something like a Baron or an older Cessna, that is, not really a properly IFR equipped aircraft... I believe the pilots were very much scud-running here... something, they were probably extremely accustomed to doing.

[@paulsz6194]

To sum this incident it up with a familiar saying : " Familiarty breeds contempt" clearly this was in play here..

[@brentsutherland6385]

Yeah, I do not doubt that challenging terrain helps make aviation in Indonesia a challenge.

[@timitonagain]

A root of the crash could also have been the first officer's failure to point out the mistakes of the captain. I read a report once that pointed out how in Asian countries, contradicting the actions of elders would seem rude and inappropriate, and so there have been crashes that were caused by the first officer's failure to call out mistakes, even if they were aware of fault

[@ZentimeProductions]

You can't fly VFR in IMC, seems to be an issue even before the go around

[@DimSimSam]

Absolutely, they had warning overload.

[@geoffedmonds6507]

I think your take on the "hilly terrain " desensitization is spot on but what a waste what a shear utter waste.

[@709466ok]

The BAE is most safe thing.

[@Rincypoopoo]

I agree with you. My tyres squeal . I am enjoying the drive. Squeal means skid. I skid all the time. No problem. ... Crunch. Been there. On the ground. ...

[@flyingtigerline]

A good technical analysis.

[@timelwell7002]

This crash speaks to me of 2 specific failings of the airline, namely: 1) There was inadequate training given to pilots. 2) The captain was being obeyed when the co-pilot should have insisted on gaining altitude as per proper procedure. The second point is also a lack of proper training, because the flight crew has to work as a team, not as a heirarchy where the captain's word is final. I suspect that this is in no small part a cultural problem. Where undue deference is given to the senior officer, it can and all too frequently has resulted in a fatal crash.

[@buttersPbutters]

The visual traffic pattern is always at 1000 feet above airfield elevation unless otherwise published. It's not like an IFR missed approach where the level off altitude is part of the specific procedure. The most common reason for pilots to fly below pattern altitude is to stay below the clouds and maintain visual contact with the runway environment throughout the pattern. Flying the visual pattern in the clouds at 1000 feet is not any more legal than flying 300 feet above the ground, and it's not necessarily safer either due to the risk of a mid-air collision. When faced with this dilemma, the only legal and safe option is to abandon the approach. So in a commercial aviation context like this, particularly with small freight carriers, these accidents tend to be provoked in part by the pressure placed on flight crews to complete the mission and deliver the cargo to the destination on time.

[@MinneapolisRaven]

The first officer should have taken over, the captain was disoriented to say the least.

[@daszieher]

My thoughts exactly. However, in many cultures, seniority and rank play an important role in society, thus going against your superiors is just something very unusual, regardless of the reasons.

[@DimSimSam]

This occurred in the same era that the national flag carrier Garuda has multiple accidents. Those reports showed Indonesia aviation to be a mess and the EU cancelled airspace clearance for Indonesian carriers.

[@babaganoush6106]

the colours of the BAe 146 at 5.52 are the company 'BAe' colours this aircraft depicted looks to be the first 146.

[@tedcrilly8411]

good planning would have helped. arriving at an airport with visual approaches only in weather below minima is a real issue. the flight was very short so the actual weather would have been easy to obtain.

[@TheBonelessBones]

The oilot forgot the saying "YOU CAN ALWAYS GO AROUND"

[@nathanjasper512]

Hmmm, I guess those alarms were important.

[@fogweaver5633]

Some nasty, suspicious part of me keeps asking: "Was there a bet involved?" Perhaps the captain bragged he could land at Wamena without exceeding 500' or something like that.

[@moiraatkinson]

Well ….. there’s no evidence of that.

[@fogweaver5633]

@@moiraatkinson That's why I started with saying "some nasty, suspicious part of me.. . "

[@653j521]

@@fogweaver5633 The part that motivates you to slander the dead? Yeah, keep that to yourself. It's really ugly and doesn't do you credit.

[@juk-hw5lv]

First of all the crew was violating VFR ground visual contact rewuirement and minimum ceilings from the start, if your simulation is true to life. Then, they disregarded the GPWS. I think this is all due to mission mindset. In Papua and most of Indonesia, airplanes are the only transport for passengers and freight. Many villages depend totaly on a plane that comes once a week. This puts pressure on the crews. They might also be desensitized to GPWS warnings as you think, but not only due to tight terrain clearences that triggered warnings even during normal approaches, but maybe also due to equipment failures since aircraft in Indoensia are notoriously poorly maintained

[@petdetail]

Thanks!

[@starwarzchik112]

Again, would you consider doing Air Canada 759? They were _a quarter of a second_ away from a disaster that could have surpassed Tenerife’s death toll. It happened five years ago today. I’m living for the day when I can hear your awesome voice say, _”This_ is the story of Air Canada flight 759.”

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

I actually did that one it was the second video on the channel but yeah I can remake it

[@starwarzchik112]

@@MiniAirCrashInvestigation I looked and didn’t see it, is it on your other channel?

[@unvergebeneid]

There is being a cool cookie and then there is ignoring terrain warnings. You do not ignore terrain warnings.

[@noneofyourbizness]

the Highlands of PNG / West Papua's treacherous weather (esp rapid formation of cloud at all altitudes) poorly maintained, unsealed, steep angle airstrips, dense forest and inaccessible high terrain ensure that it's a challenging enough environment for pilots to operate in without them ignoring any warnings/alarms.

[@petep.2092]

What was "the one bad decision" that caused the crash?

[@afreightdogslife]

Any airline pilot knows, even when not trained by his/her airline, that an EGPWS warning means to, immediately climb due to high terrain approaching, so this crew was not only complacent but the captain was a moron and he crashed and killed his entire crew because of his and their stupidity.

[@marcosacceleronhotwheels2806]

did that guy got his license from a cereal box?

[@bikeny]

Cracker Jacks, maybe?

[@captainallermen]

That and maybe they flew low to try to fly below the hanging clouds or something to do with poor visibility

[@davidpatton7298]

As a pilot , wouldn’t altitude minimums be important flying around large hills or mini mountains?

[@FinnishLapphund]

Sounds like it probably was a combination of not getting the training they should've gotten together with your theory, which caused the accident. Your theory sounds similar to those drivers who gets too used to passing permanent moose warning signs, without seeing a moose, so they stop expecting to meet a moose there, and then one day, they happen to drive past at the same time as a moose crosses the road.

[@marchongkong]

It’s a weird coincidence that the number on the tail and the speed at which they crashed were both 146.

[@IrisRiedel6]

Excited about the new vid!

[@Capecodham]

WTF is a vid?

[@scottpatrick8645]

He was so low he might as well have taxied the go around.

[@oldstrawhat4193]

I dont think the pilots were desensitized as you suggest. I just think the captain was incompetent and careless. And the copilot was a wimp and didnt take over flying the plane, which was his job.

[@kzrlgo]

Another interesting video but read your video description. It reads like it was written on a Nokia, while riding a bike, without a proof read. Just saying.

[@skysurferuk]

QFE & QNH are different...?

[@colinboneham7387]

Imo the Pilot was the weakest link in the chain of this incident, but it wasn’t helped by the training and flight manuals.

[@outwiththem]

Captain was bad when maneuvering was needed. You never turn steep when doing a CLIMBING TURN. You lose lift in a steep turn, Duhhh !!

[@bryanrussell6679]

I think the vague instructions of "adjust the flight path as required" could be greatly improved if it instead said "JUST FLY THE GODDAMN PLANE."

[@StupidusMaximusTheFirst]

Well, if that's true and they were kinda used to hear these warnings all the time and ignored them, then it's obvious you're correct. This also means either the approach or the location of the airfield is wrong, possibly both. They should never have become used to hear a warning like this, this should never be a part of the normal approach procedure. Also there was no instrument approach? I bet they were also used doing this on bad weather. The pilots should complain to the airline (where they probably did and they were probably allowed or better... forced to make all this as standard approach) and the airline in turn should complain to the state officials (which they probably did and were ignored - this happens in small poor countries all the time, state officials are corrupt and/or don't give a shit). Sad.

[@juliemanarin4127]

The pilot...only the captain...did this as the other pilot and one other in the cockpit tried to say something. I can't blame the other pilot.

[@johnsmith5255]

I'm no pilot, but I would consider non-stop terrain warnings and the sight of my plane LITERALLY stone skipping the hilltops as good indicators that I should go higher. It doesn't require a high IQ or flying knowledge to know that.

[@TheBonelessBones]

We can call this "an landing to heeaven"

[@Humphrey181]

I’ve flown a lot in the PNG side of the island. Being very mountainous and extremely humid it’s very common to not be able to see the ground for the fog. The only flat ground for the airport is often at the bottom of the valleys. We have had so many pilots hunting around for breaks in the clouds and then diving the Bombardier down quickly towards the ground with the GPWS blurting “Terrain, terrain, “ the whole way in. Always remembered to breathe again once the wheels touched the ground.

[@jacekatalakis8316]

Not looked at the terrain around there but why were they so low to begin with. Surely the mountain was on their charts and they knew how high it was?

[@stevehuffman1495]

I wonder if they wanted to stay low to avoid losing visual references in the clouds.

[@vibingwithvinyl]

I think it should be Mandiri, not Mandirini.

[@F-Man]

Mini!!

[@rilmar2137]

Smol!

[@cchris874]

Usually it pays to carefully study the reason for seeming inexplicable behavior before casually writing the crew off as stupid. But here, somebody somewhere acted with amazing stupidity. Or maybe they just don't care as much in this part of the world?

[@grevberg]

The ethnicity of the captain may play a role. In some cultures people in command don't take too kindly to the plebs telling them what to do

[@Firestorm637]

People become complacent. I am familiar with the airport with all its hills. You fly a lower approach and accidents then happen.

[@jadler10]

It seems like the pilots were trying to stay low to remain VFR.

[@pascalcoole2725]

Was this captain actualy a pilot or did he send his mother in law ?

[@MrXPeaceLP]

I could imagine that they also didn't want to leave the ground too far behind because of the reason they had to abort the landing. Being at a low altitude already reduces the risk of another overspeed due to late descent.

[@surferdude4487]

It seems to me that the ceiling was too low. The airport should have re-routed the flight.

[@vincent412l7]

Keep in mind this is Indonesean aviation. They were banned from European airspace for a reason.

[@derpinguin7003]

What kind of moron flies low in mountainous areas, especially if you get multiple terrain warnings?

[@abiyasad2]

Oh, jadi ga selamanya karena masalah cuaca 🙏

[@M167A1]

Good Old alert fatigue