Date: | Wednesday 20 November 1974 |
Time: | 07:54 |
Type: | Boeing 747-130 |
Owner/operator: | Lufthansa |
Registration: | D-ABYB |
MSN: | 19747/29 |
Year of manufacture: | 1970 |
Total airframe hrs: | 16781 hours |
Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 59 / Occupants: 157 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | Nairobi International Airport (NBO) -
Kenya
|
Phase: | Take off |
Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
Departure airport: | Nairobi International Airport (NBO/HKNA) |
Destination airport: | Johannesburg International Airport (JNB/FAJS) |
Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:Boeing 747 D-ABYB was taking off for the last leg of the Frankfurt (FRA) - Nairobi (NBO) - Johannesburg (JNB) flight when the crew felt vibration or buffeting following lift off. The captain, suspecting wheel imbalance, raised the gear. A lack of acceleration forced the crew to lower the nose in order to maintain airspeed. The Boeing continued to descend however and contacted the ground 1120 m past the end of runway 24 and struck an elevated road 114 m further on. The aircraft broke up and caught fire before coming to rest 454 m past the initial point of impact.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident was caused by the crew initiating a take-off with the leading edge flaps retracted because the pneumatic system which operates them had not been switched on. This resulted in the aircraft becoming airborne in a partially stalled condition which the pilots did not identify in the short time available to them for recovery. Major contributory factors were the lack of warning of a critical condition of leading edge flap position and the failure of the crew to complete satisfactorily their checklist items."
Sources:
Flight International 28 August 1976 (481)
ICAO Circular 132-AN/93 (181-194)
Location
Images:
photo (c) Werner Fischdick; Frankfurt International Airport (FRA); 31 August 1974
photo (c) via Dirk Noldt
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |