1973 Kano Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 crash

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1973 Kano Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 crash
Boeing 707-3D3C JY-ADO Alia LHR 22.08.71 edited-2.jpg
JY-ADO, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen at London Heathrow Airport in 1971
Accident
Date22 January 1973 (1973-01-22)
SummaryLanding gear collapse, bad weather
Site Kano International Airport (KAN), Nigeria
12°02′58″N8°31′15″E / 12.04944°N 8.52083°E / 12.04944; 8.52083
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 707-3D3C
Aircraft namePetra
Operator Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines on behalf of Nigeria Airways
Registration JY-ADO
Flight origin Kandara Airport, Jeddah
Destination Ikeja Int'l Airport, Lagos (now Murtala Muhammed Int'l Airport)
Occupants202
Passengers193
Crew9
Fatalities176
Injuries25
Survivors26

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]

Contents

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] The Captain of the flight was 53-year-old John Waterman, who had been flying for 22 years in the middle east and had accumulated 22,000 hours of flying experience. [3] [4] [5]

Flight

Africa relief location map.jpg
Airplane silhouette.svg
JED
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KAN
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LOS
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A map showing the locations of the Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED - where the flight originated), Ikeja International Airport (LOS) and Kano International Airport (KAN - the site of the accident)
Overview of Kano International Airport, the site of the accident Overview of Kano Airport.jpg
Overview of Kano International Airport, the site of the accident

The Boeing 707, operated by Alia, had been chartered by Nigeria Airways to fly pilgrims back from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Lagos, Nigeria. Due to bad weather conditions at Lagos, the pilots had to divert the flight to Kano. [6] The pilots had to make a second landing attempt due to low visibility from haze and a harmattan. [3] [7] 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. [8] 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 and 26 survived, including captain Waterman. [4] At the time it was the deadliest aviation accident, [9] a distinction it only held for about 14 months until Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed in France, killing 346 people. [10] 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. [11]

Investigation

In 1975, the Nigerian government concluded that the cause of crash was pilot error, stating that captain Waterman flew the aircraft in a reckless manner. [12] According to GeoJournal , the crash was the result of a "mechanical factor". [13]

References

  1. 1 2 Accident descriptionfor JY-ADO at the Aviation Safety Network
  2. ↑ "Crash of a Boeing 707-3D3C in Kano: 176 killed". www.baaa-acro.com. Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 "DISASTERS: End of a Pilgrimage". Time . 5 February 1973. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  4. 1 2 Johnson, Thomas A. (23 January 1973). "Pilgrims' Jet Crashes in Nigeria; 180 Are Feared Dead, a Record". The New York Times . Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Algerian, Airline Official Dispute 707 Crash Toll". Pacific Daily News . Agana Heights, Guam. UPI. 28 January 1973. p. 12. Retrieved 27 January 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "事故詳細 |（事故No,19730122a）" [Accident details | (Accident No. 19730122a)]. eonet.ne.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Pilgrim plane crash toll 156". Daily Post . Liverpool, Merseyside, England. 24 January 1973. p. 12. Retrieved 27 January 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Accident details". www.planecrashinfo.com. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "World's Worst Plane Crash Kills 190 Pilgrims". Ludington Daily News . UPI. 22 January 1973. Retrieved 29 August 2017– via Google News Archive.
  10. ↑ Accident descriptionfor TC-JAV at the Aviation Safety Network . Retrieved on 31 July 2013.
  11. ↑ Accident descriptionfor JY-AEE at the Aviation Safety Network . Retrieved on 15 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "U.S. Pilot Blamed for Crash That Killed 157 in Nigeria". The New York Times. 18 September 1975. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  13. ↑ Oluwakoya, Adeniyi O.; Ogundipe, Seun; Irinyemi, Ademola Benson (October 2021). "Spatio-temporal patterns of air crashes in Nigeria between 1960 and 2012" . GeoJournal . 86 (5): 2407–2417. doi:10.1007/s10708-020-10209-0 . Retrieved 1 May 2025.
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