| Status |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date | Monday 6 June 1994 |
| Time | 17:17 LT |
| Type |
 Airbus A320-231 |
| Operator | Hong Kong Dragon Airlines |
| Registration | VR-HYU |
| MSN | 447 |
| Year of manufature | 1993 |
| Engines | IAEV2500-A1 |
| Crew | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Passengers | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Total occupants | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 148 |
| Aircraft damage | None |
| Location | Hong Kong-Kai Tak International Airport (HKG)  Hong Kong
|
| Phase | Landing |
| Nature | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure Airport | Nanking Airport (NKG/ZSNJ) |
| Destination Airport | Hong Kong-Kai Tak International Airport (HKG) |
| Narrative | At 16:34 local time on 6 June 1994, an A320 aircraft registration VR-HYU was at 800 ft on an Instrument Guidance System (IGS) approach to Runway 13 at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) when it encountered a severe gust. The gust caused the trailing edge flaps to lock in the fully down position and for a "FLAPS LOCKED" caption to be displayed on the cockpit Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitoring System (ECAM). The Captain decided to go around. A second approach to Runway 13 was carried out with the FLAPS lever at Config 3 as directed by the Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM) procedure which was also displayed on the relevant ECAM system page. This approach was abandoned due to transient but pronounced lateral oscillations of the aircraft. The Captain then decided to attempt to land on Runway 31. Some 30 minutes later with the flaps still locked fully down and the slats now at 18° a manual approach to runway 31 was commenced. When the aircraft was below 1200 feet lateral oscillations again occurred with roll angles of up to +30° recorded on the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR). Again the Captain carried out a missed approach procedure. By this stage the aircraft's fuel state was critical and a fourth approach was attempted with slats at 22° and the Flaps locked at 40° (FLAPS lever at Config 3). Again, roll oscillations of up to ±30° occurred at about 1200 ft and continued throughout the approach. Because of the low fuel state, the Captain decided to continue the approach and land. The aircraft touched down within the normal landing area and on the runway centreline. Within 5 seconds of touchdown the aircraft departed the paved runway to the right at a constant track of 324°T and after traversing the runway strip came to rest on the paved parallel taxiway B1. The Captain ordered an evacuation and an orderly evacuation took place using the port-side doors and the over-wing exits. The aircraft, on its first approach, encountered a gust of sufficient intensity to produce asymmetric movement of the flaps. The asymmetric movement caused the flaps to lock and generated a "FLAPS LOCKED" message on the ECAM. By selecting the FLAPS lever to Config 3 as directed to by the ECAM the lateral control law became sensitive when the flaps were locked in the Config FULL position (40°) and hence rendered the aircraft difficult to control in roll in turbulent conditions. The performance of the crew degraded as the degree of anxiety and level of stress on them increased. Approach briefings were omitted, the landing check list was not properly performed and routine crew co-ordination on the flight deck broke down completely towards the end of the flight. The departure of the aircraft from the runway after touchdown was caused by the apparent delay by the Captain to exercise effective directional control. |
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