Armavia Flight 967 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Armavia from Zvartnots International Airport, Zvartnots in Armenia to Sochi, a Black Sea coastal resort city in Russia. On 3 May 2006, the aircraft operating the route, an Airbus A320, crashed into the sea while attempting a go-around following its first approach to Sochi airport; all 113 aboard were killed. The accident was the first major commercial airline crash in 2006. It was Armavia's only fatal accident during the airline's existence.
The aircraft took off from Zvartnots International Airport (EVN) at a scheduled departure time at 01:45 Armenian Daylight Time (20:45 UTC, May 2), with a scheduled arrival time at Sochi International Airport (AER) of 02:00 Moscow Daylight Time (22:00 UTC, May 2).
To make their decision for departure, the crew obtained the observed weather data and the weather forecast for the takeoff, landing, and alternate aerodromes, all of which met the requirements for IFR flights. All the crew were correctly licensed and adequately rested to operate the flight.
The airplane took off from Zvartnots airport at 20:47 with 113 occupants on board: 105 passengers (including five children and one infant), two pilots, one aircraft engineer, and five flight attendants. Takeoff, climb, and cruise were uneventful.
The first communication between Sochi approach controller and the crew took place at 21:10. At that moment, the airplane was beyond the coverage area of the Sochi radar. Until 21:17, the approach controller and the crew discussed the observed and forecast weather, and as a result, the crew decided to return to Yerevan. At 21:26, after the decision had already been made, the crew asked the controller about the latest observed weather. At 21:30, the controller informed the crew that visibility was 3,600 metres (2.2 mi) and the cloud ceiling was 170 m (560 ft). At 21:31, the crew decided to continue the flight to Sochi airport.
The next communication with the approach controller was at 22:00. The aircraft then was descending to an altitude of 3,600 m (11,800 ft) and was being tracked by the Sochi radar. The approach controller cleared the flight for a descent to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and reported the observed weather at Sochi, as at 22:00, for runway 06, which was above the minima.
The crew was then handed over to the holding and tower controllers, and was cleared for descent to 600 m (2,000 ft), before entering the turn to the final approach. Whilst performing the turn, the runway extended centreline was overshot. After eliminating the deviation, the crew started descending the aircraft along the glide slope, following the approach pattern. At 22:10, the crew reported that the gear was down and that they were ready for landing. In response, they were advised that they were 10 kilometres (6.2 mi; 5.4 nmi) from the airport and that the weather was now 4,000 m (13,000 ft) visibility and 190 m (620 ft) cloud ceiling, and were cleared to land. About 30 seconds later, the controller advised the crew of the observed cloud ceiling at 100 m (330 ft) and instructed them to cease their descent, abandon the landing attempt, and carry out a right turn and climb to 600 m (2,000 ft) and also to contact the holding controller, who would give instructions for entering the airport's holding pattern. The last communication with the crew was at 22:12. After that, the crew did not respond to any of the controller's calls. At 22:13, the aircraft struck the water, and broke up on impact.
The aircraft involved was an A320 built in France, with its first flight in June 1995. It had an MSN number of 547 with a test registration code of F-WWIU. The aircraft was delivered in 1995 to Ansett Australia, registered in Australia as VH-HYO. It was acquired by Armavia in 2004 registered as EK-32009 with its name as Mesrop Mashtots. Armavia repainted the aircraft with its new livery on 31 October 2004. The aircraft had flown more than 10,000 hours before the crash.
Most of the passengers were citizens of Armenia. According to reports, the flight had 85 Armenian citizens, 26 Russian citizens, one Georgian citizen, and one Ukrainian.
Citizenship of the passengers and crew
The captain of Flight 967 was 40-year-old Grigor Grigoryan. Born in 1966, he had completed his primary training in Krasnokutsk Civil Flight School. He graduated in 1986 and also graduated from Moscow Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers. He joined Balaklavsky United as a co-pilot in 1986. He then joined Ararat Airlines in 1997 as a captain of Yakovlev Yak-40s. He then joined Armavia as a co-pilot of Airbus A320s in 2004 and subsequently promoted to a captain in 2005. He had passed a test for an Airbus A320 captain in SAS Flight Academy in Stockholm, Sweden, with satisfactory results. Captain Grigoryan had a total of 5,458 hours of flight experience, including 1,436 hours on the Airbus A320.
The first officer (co-pilot) of Flight 967 was 29-year-old Arman Davtyan. He was born in 1977 and had completed his primary training in Ulyanovsk Civil Flying School and graduated in 1999. He then joined Chernomor-Avia in December 2001 as a co-pilot of Tupolev Tu-154s. He joined Armavia in 2002, joined Armenian Airlines in 2004, and then joined Armavia again in the same year. First Officer Davtyan had passed a training course for an Airbus A320 in SAS Flight Academy in Stockholm, Sweden, with satisfactory results. He had 2,185 flight hours, with 1,022 of them on the A320.
Flight 967 disappeared from Sochi's radar at 02:13 local time. Chief of Flight Operation N.G Savelyev alerted all the search-and-rescue services in the area and deployed an Mi-8 helicopter. At 02:19, Russia's Minister of Emergencies was informed of the disappearance of Flight 967. A search helicopter was ready for takeoff to find the missing flight, but was not allowed by Sochi due to the deteriorating weather. The search-and-rescue operation was then suspended. At 04:08, the Ministry of Emergency's boat Valery Zamarayez found the probable crash area. Rescuers then went to the search area. From 07:30 to 12:30, the search-and-rescue team recovered 9 body parts from the crash site.
Search-and-rescue personnel only managed to recover some of the flight's debris. They recovered the Airbus' nose, landing gear, fin, elevator, and several other fragments. Wiring and electronic units were also found. In total, 52 body fragments were found by the team, as well. The Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) noted that at the time when Flight 967 impacted the sea, the landing gear was extended. The lower part of the rudder was severely damaged due to the impact forces. Several parts of the aircraft elevator were also damaged. Some of the aircraft parts recovered from the sea were severely deformed.
The pilot had indicated unhappiness with the late hour of the flight and the automated procedures or techniques of the autopilot. The pilot used some inputs and adjustments that appeared to be aimed at gaining command of the flight over what the automated systems had to offer. His attitude towards the aircraft and his lack of communication when making adjustments may have put additional strain on the first officer. Numerous deviations from standard procedures occurred once the captain was instructed to break off his landing approach and make a turn. The deviations combined with the lack of inputs and actions resulted in the aircraft not doing all things desired of it and also sounding a number of warnings.
The weather at the time was considered to be fine; low pressure was present near Sochi. A cold front was also detected and was forming in the Caucasian Edge and further to the east of Turkey at the time. Rain was also present in Adler (Sochi). In the spring transition period, low clouds often occurred in the Caucasian Edge, which could have limited visibility for the pilots. This proved to be dangerous, as most controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) occurs due to this kind of cloud (which obscures the pilots' visual reference).