1973 Kano Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 crash
 JY-ADO, the aircraft involved in the accident, at London Heathrow Airport in 1971 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 January 1973 |
| Summary | Landing gear collapse, bad weather |
| Site | Kano International Airport (KAN), Nigeria 12°02′58″N 8°31′15″E / 12.04944°N 8.52083°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 707-3D3C |
| Aircraft name | Petra |
| Operator | Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines on behalf of Nigeria Airways |
| Registration | JY-ADO |
| Flight origin | King Abdulaziz Int'l Airport, Jeddah |
| Destination | Ikeja Int'l Airport, Lagos (now Murtala Muhammed Int'l Airport) |
| Occupants | 202 |
| Passengers | 193 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 176 |
| Injuries | 25 |
| Survivors | 26 |
On 22 January 1973, a Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 crashed at Kano International Airport while attempting to land in high winds. The crash killed 176 passengers and crew. There were 26 survivors. The crash remains the deadliest aviation disaster ever in Nigeria.[1]
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a 2-year-old Boeing 707-3D3C, JY-ADO, owned by Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines, operating on behalf of Nigeria Airways. It first flew in 1971 and was powered by four Pratt and Whitney JT3D engines.[1][2]
Flight
The Boeing 707, operated by Alia, had been chartered by Nigeria Airways to fly pilgrims back from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Lagos, Nigeria. Bad weather at Lagos caused the crew to divert to Kano. Kano International Airport was experiencing high winds at the time. The aircraft landed nose wheel first, and the nose wheel collapsed after hitting a depression in the runway.[3] The right main landing gear leg subsequently collapsed. The aircraft turned 180 degrees, left the runway and burst into flames.
Of the 202 passengers and crew on board, 176 died. At the time it was the deadliest aviation accident,[4] a distinction it only held for about 14 months until Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed in France, killing 346 people.[5] The Kano aircraft crash was also the deadliest aviation disaster involving a Boeing 707 at the time until another Alia Royal Jordanian plane crashed in Morocco two years later.[6]
References
- ^ a b Accident description for JY-ADO at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ "Crash of a Boeing 707-3D3C in Kano: 176 killed". www.baaa-acro.com. Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Accident details". www.planecrashinfo.com. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ^ "World's Worst Plane Crash Kills 190 Pilgrims". Ludington Daily News. United Press International. 22 January 1973. Retrieved 29 August 2017 – via Google News.
- ^ Accident description for TC-JAV at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 31 July 2013.
- ^ Accident description for JY-AEE at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 15 May 2020.