Gulf Air Flight 072
Gulf Air Flight 072 (GF072/GFA072) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Cairo International Airport in Egypt to Bahrain International Airport in Bahrain, operated by Gulf Air. On 23 August 2000 at 19:30 Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3), the Airbus A320 crashed minutes after executing a go-around upon failed attempt to land on Runway 12. The flight crew suffered from spatial disorientation during the go-around and crashed into the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf 2 km (1 nmi) from the airport. All 143 people on board the aircraft were killed.
A4O-EK, the aircraft involved, 1999 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 23 August 2000 |
| Summary | Somatogravic illusion leading to pilot error and loss of situational awareness; Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Persian Gulf, 2 km (1.2 mi) north off Bahrain International Airport, Muharraq, Bahrain 26°17′51″N 50°38′49″E: 34 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A320-212 |
| Operator | Gulf Air |
| IATA flight No. | GF072 |
| ICAO flight No. | GFA072 |
| Call sign | Gulf Air 072 |
| Registration | A4O-EK |
| Flight origin | Cairo International Airport, Cairo, Egypt |
| Destination | Bahrain International Airport, Muharraq, Bahrain |
| Occupants | 143 |
| Passengers | 135 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 143 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The crash of Flight 072 remains the deadliest aviation accident in Bahraini territory, and was the deadliest accident involving an Airbus A320 at the time, which was later surpassed by TAM Airlines Flight 3054, which crashed on 17 July 2007 with 199 fatalities.
The final report was issued on 15 August 2002, concluded that the individual factors contributed to the accident was non adherence to a number of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and loss of spatial and situational awareness by the aircraft crew during the approach and final phases of the flight. A number of systemic factors were also contributed to the accident, including deficiency in crew resource management (CRM) training by Gulf Air and safety oversights by the Directorate General Of Civil Aviation and Meteorology of Oman.