Weather conditions at Bukoba (Tanzania) Airport were much worse than the flight crew of the ATR 42-500 expected. After attempting a visual approach, they decided to hold near the airport until the conditions improved. Although the weather did not improve during a brief delay, the pilot-in-command (PIC) elected to try another visual approach. The PIC conducted the approach at a relatively high descent rate without “clear sight” of the airport and despite warnings by the aircraft’s enhanced ground-proximity warning system (EGPWS) and appeals by the first officer to go around, according to the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Branch of Tanzania (AAIB). The aircraft struck Lake Victoria, and the cockpit and forward cabin flooded quickly. Seventeen passengers and the pilots were killed; 22 other passengers and the two cabin crewmembers evacuated the aircraft without serious injury (although one cabin crewmember sustained minor injuries).
