True Aviation Flight 21

True Aviation Flight 21 was a regularly scheduled domestic cargo flight in Bangladesh, flying from Cox's Bazar to Jashore. On 9 March 2016, the Antonov An-26 crashed into the Bay of Bengal shortly after take-off from Cox's Bazar Airport. The aircraft was attempting to return to the airport after experiencing an engine failure. Three of the four crew members on board were killed in the accident.

Background

The flight was managed by True Blue Aviation. Ashek Ullah Rafique, a member from the Parliament of Cox's Bazar and member of the Awami League is one of the owners of the airline.

Accident

On 9 March 2016, an Antonov An-26 owned by True Aviation and operating a cargo flight as Flight 21 was scheduled to fly from Cox's Bazar Airport to Jessore Airport. The cargo on board was 4,800 kg of shrimp fries.

At 02:58 UTC, according to the ATC, the crew requested the startup clearance, afterwards, the ATC controller informed the crew that the visibility at Jessore Airport was 3 km. The aircraft was cleared to taxi to runway 35 via taxiway S.

At 03:05 UTC, the aircraft requested takeoff clearance and was cleared to take-off a few moments later.

Immediately after the aircraft was airborne, the pilots informed the tower that they were experiencing an engine failure, without initially reporting which one of the two engines was failing. The pilots later confirmed that the left-hand engine had failed, which led the pilot to request an immediate return to Cox's Bazar Airport.

The air traffic controller advised the pilot to call for a left-hand downwind approach, but instead the pilot made a right-hand downwind approach at a very low altitude.

All emergency service vehicles were put on standby by the controllers. The aircraft was on final approach when it requested clearance for an emergency landing, but for unknown reasons at the time of the final report, the aircraft initiated a go-around at a low altitude. According to the flight controller, the plane was flying at an altitude between 400 and 500 ft; this was also confirmed by the surviving flight navigator.

The ATC repeatedly kept calling the aircraft to advise the left-hand downwind approach, but there was no response from the crew, and communication with the aircraft was lost.

At 03:32 UTC, the airport authorities were told that the aircraft had crashed approximately 3 kilometers west of the airport, in the Bay of Bengal.

A rescue operation involving the Bangladeshi Navy, Coast Guard, and fire service was immediately initiated by airport authorities, and the crew were found to have been located by local fisherman. Three crew members were declared dead at the scene; the causes of death for all 3 were later determined to be head trauma upon impact. The fourth crew member was rushed to the district hospital in Cox's Bazar and was later moved to Dhaka for treatment of his injuries. The aircraft was totally destroyed.