True Aviation Flight 21

True Blue Aviation

Industry	Aviation
Founder	Ashek Ullah Rafique
Headquarters	Cox's Bazar , Bangladesh
Area served	Bangladesh
Key people	Ashek Ullah Rafique (proprietor)
Products	Cargo airline services

Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence True Aviation Flight 21 was a scheduled domestic cargo service operating within Bangladesh, traveling between Cox's Bazar and Jashore. On 9 March 2016, shortly after departing from Cox's Bazar Airport, the Antonov An-26 crashed into the Bay of Bengal. Following an engine failure, the crew attempted to return to the departure airport. Tragically, three of the four crew members on board lost their lives.

Background

True Blue Aviation operated this flight. Among the airline’s proprietors is Ashek Ullah Rafique, a parliamentarian representing Cox's Bazar and affiliated with the Awami League.

Accident

On 9 March 2016, True Aviation’s Antonov An-26 operating as Flight 21 was scheduled for a cargo run from Cox's Bazar Airport to Jessore Airport. The shipment consisted of approximately 4,800 kilograms of shrimp fries.

At 02:58 UTC, air traffic control (ATC) received a startup clearance request from the crew. The controller informed them that visibility at Jessore Airport was measured at three kilometers. Clearance was granted for taxiing to runway 35 via taxiway S.

Takeoff clearance was requested at 03:05 UTC and approved shortly thereafter.

Immediately after becoming airborne, the flight crew reported an engine failure to ATC but initially did not specify which engine was affected. Subsequently, they confirmed that the left engine had failed and requested permission for an immediate return to Cox's Bazar Airport.

Despite ATC advising a left-hand downwind approach, the pilot instead initiated a right-hand downwind pattern at a dangerously low altitude.

Emergency response units were placed on alert by controllers. While on final approach, the aircraft requested clearance for an emergency landing but unexpectedly commenced a go-around maneuver at low altitude for reasons that remained unclear in the final report. The flight controller noted the plane was flying between 400 and 500 feet above ground level; this altitude was corroborated by the surviving navigator.

Repeated ATC instructions to execute a left-hand downwind approach went unanswered, and communication with the aircraft ceased.

At approximately 03:32 UTC, airport officials were informed that the aircraft had crashed roughly three kilometers west of the airport into the Bay of Bengal.

A rescue mission involving the Bangladeshi Navy, Coast Guard, and fire services was promptly launched by airport authorities. Local fishermen located the crew. Three individuals were pronounced dead at the crash site; autopsies determined their deaths resulted from head trauma sustained upon impact. The fourth crew member received emergency treatment at Cox's Bazar district hospital before being transferred to Dhaka for further care. The aircraft was completely destroyed.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Antonov An-26, initially commissioned on 15 February 1984. It began operations in Bangladesh on 17 July 2014. This plane was equipped with two Ivchenko AI-24 turboprop engines. By the time of the accident, it had logged a total of 16,379 flight hours.

Ownership of the aircraft belonged to Air Urga, and it was leased to True Aviation at the time of the incident.

Crew

The flight crew comprised four Ukrainian pilots. Of these, three tragically lost their lives, while one survived the crash.

The deceased crew members were:

• Captain Murad Gafarov, aged 57, who had amassed 13,315 flight hours overall, with 6,896 hours specifically on the An-26.
• Co-pilot Ivan Petrov, aged 27, holding a total of 1,438 flight hours, including 1,195 hours on this aircraft type.
• Flight Engineer Kulish Andriy, aged 36, who had accumulated 3,924 flight hours in total, of which 2,946 were on the An-26.

The sole survivor was:

• Flight Navigator Vlodymyr Kultanov, aged 48, with a total of 3,924 flight hours and 2,946 hours logged on the An-26.

Investigation

The Air Accident Investigation Group of Bangladesh (AAIG-BD) initiated an inquiry into the crash on the day it occurred. Given that the crew were Ukrainian nationals, the National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine collaborated in the investigation. Representatives from Ukraine visited the crash location between 21 and 26 March 2016.

Both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were retrieved on the day of the accident. These devices, manufactured in Ukraine, exhibited no external damage upon recovery.

On 11 April, both recorders were dispatched to the NBAAI headquarters in Kyiv for detailed examination. While the cockpit voice recorder was found to be internally damaged and unreadable, the flight data recorder remained intact and its data could be successfully extracted.

The investigation revealed that engine failure resulted from a loss of oil pressure within the torque meter system. The surviving crew member reported challenges in controlling the aircraft during emergency landing attempts prior to impact. The findings confirmed that weather conditions were suitable for departure, all crew members were properly trained and medically fit at the time, and that the aircraft itself was airworthy.

The crash was attributed to several factors:

• Non-compliance with established procedures following engine failure;
• Failure to divert to a nearby alternate airport (Chittagong Airport), located approximately 50 km away, which offered better visibility conducive to a one-engine precision approach;
• Flying below the minimum clean configuration speed—225 km/h instead of the required 290 km/h; and
• The aircraft stalled while attempting a low-altitude turn toward the side with the failed engine.