On a dark and foggy night in 2017 the crew of a Turkish freighter came to grief in an autolanding that touched down off the airport in Kyrgyzstan, killing themselves, two relief crewmembers and 35 area residents.After a three-year effort, Russian investigators have released their final report on the accident. In addition to a catalogue of human errors and missed opportunities to avoid the catastrophe, the report revealed a new twist on an automatic system involving the color green.The all-cargo Turkish Airlines Boeing 747-412P flew a fully automated descent and executed a perfect auto-land, including flare, but did so 3,050 ft. beyond the far end of the intended runway. The airplane touched down at 165 kt., smashed through an airport barrier wall and disintegrated along a 1,800-ft. path.Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 originated in Hong Kong (VHHH) and was destined for Istanbul (LTBA), with an intermediate stop at Manas Airport (UCFM) near Bishkek, the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic). The cargo flight was operated on behalf of Turkish Airlines by ACT Airlines on Jan. 16,2017. The planned time en route was 6 hr., 3 min. The crew conducted a preflight briefing beginning at 2130 Hong Kong time but did not depart until 0312, a delay of 2 hr., 2 min. from the scheduled departure. According to the accident report, the destination weather, although foggy, was "within limits to depart." Two alternates, Astana (UACC) and Karaganda (UAKK), Kazakhstan, were filed.
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