Armavia Flight 967

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.

Flight

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 3600 m and the cloud ceiling was 170 m. 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 3600 m and was being tracked by the Sochi radar. The approach controller cleared the flight for a descent to 1800 m 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, 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 km from the airport and that the weather was now 4000 m visibility and 190 m cloud ceiling, and were cleared to land. About 30 seconds later, the controller advised the crew of the observed cloud ceiling at 100 m and instructed them to cease their descent, abandon the landing attempt, and carry out a right turn and climb to 600 m 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.