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Kenya Airways Flight 431

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Kenya Airways Flight 431

The aircraft involved in the accident is seen here at Fiumicino Airport in 1993
Accident summary
Date January 30, 2000 (2000-01-30)
Type Electrical fault combined with pilot error
Site Off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire
Passengers 169
Crew 10
Injuries 10
Fatalities 169
Survivors 10
Aircraft type Airbus A310-304
Aircraft name Harambee Star
Operator Kenya Airways
Tail number 5Y-BEN
Flight origin Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Stopover Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria
Destination Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya

Kenya Airways Flight 431 was an international scheduled Abidjan–Lagos–Nairobi passenger service, operated with an Airbus A310-300, that crashed into the sea, off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire, on 30 January 2000 at 21:09:24 GMT, shortly after take-off from Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport.[1][2] There were 179 people on board, of whom 169 were passengers.[1][2][3][4][5] It was the first fatal accident for Kenya Airways.[6][7]

Contents

[edit] Aircraft

Named Harambee Star, the aircraft involved in the accident was an Airbus A310-304, tail number 5Y-BEN, that had been bought new by the airline in 1986.[1][6][7] With c/n 426 and equipped with a twin-GE CF6-80C2A2 powerplant, the airframe had its maiden flight on 3 July 1986 with registration F-WWCQ, and was delivered to Kenya Airways on 24 September the same year.[8] It was &1000000000000001300000013 years and &10000000000000211000000211 days old at the time of the accident.

[edit] Description

The flight originated in Nairobi as Flight KQ430, and was due to land in Abidjan after a stopover in Lagos.[1] Many Nigerians who traveled to Dubai for duty-free shopping used this flight.[9] The aircraft flew directly to Abidjan because of weather conditions over Lagos.[4][10] More specifically, harmattan winds blowing southwards from the Sahara made skies over Lagos unusually hazy on that day, and all incoming flights at Lagos Airport were halted.

After a three-hour layover, the plane took off for Lagos at 21:08 GMT and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of the airport, off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire, about a minute later.[11]

This was Kenya Airways' first fatal accident.[6][7] After the accident, Kenya Airways set up a crisis centre at the Nairobi Inter-Continental Hotel in Nairobi.[10][12]

[edit] Passengers and crew

Most of the passengers and crew were reported to be Nigerians.[3][4] Two of the crewmembers on board worked for KLM.[4]

The 168 deceased came from 33 countries. The nationality of one additional deceased victim was not determined. Following is a list of the nationalities of the deceased:[13]

Nationality Number
 Nigeria 84
 Kenya 20
 India 8
"Congo" (specific country undisclosed) 5
 Uganda 5
 Madagascar 4
 Senegal 3
 Togo 3
 Canada 2
 Côte d'Ivoire 2
 Ethiopia 2
 France 2
 Ghana 2
 Iran 2
 Mali 2
 Netherlands 2
 Philippines 2
 Rwanda 2
 United States 2
 Zambia 2
 Belgium 1
 Burkina Faso 1
 Burundi 1
 Chad 1
 Gambia 1
 Guinea 1
 Ireland 1
 Liberia 1
 Mauritania 1
 Spain 1
 Tanzania 1
 Zimbabwe 1
Undetermined 1
Total (33 nationalities) 169

Powerboat operators and fishermen extracted at least seven of the survivors from the water. Of those survivors, three were Nigerians, one was a Kenyan, one was a Gambian, one was an Indian, and one was a Rwandan. One survivor, a Frenchman, swam almost 1 mile (1.6 km) to the shore.[12][14][15] Of the 12 initial survivors, 2 died in the hospital. Of the 10 ultimate survivors, 9 received serious injuries and one received minor injuries. Four survivors received first degree burns from contact with jet fuel in the water.[13]

The University Hospital Medical Center at Treichville (Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire de Treichville (CHU)) in Abidjan examined the deceased. The center identified 103 of the bodies and was unable to identify the other 43. Of the 145 of the deceased, 108 died from serious poly-traumatic lesions, 22 died from a combination of drowning lesions and serious poly-traumatic lesions, and 15 died solely from drowning lesions. The hospital could not determine the injuries sustained by one of the bodies. According to the autopsy reports, a violent deceleration or a twisting or cutting action resulted in the injuries. 43 of the deceased received first degree burns due to contact with the jet fuel spilled in the water. The pilots died from poly-traumatic lesions; they also received first degree burns from the jet fuel.[13]

[edit] Investigation

The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile, the accident investigation authority of France, assisted in the search for the flight recorders.[16] The Transportation Safety Board of Canada analyzed the flight safety recorders.[17]

The Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire published the original French language accident report. The BEA published its English version of the report.[18]

The sequence of events were as follows:

  1. An errant stall warning sounds immediately after takeoff.
  2. The pilot put the aircraft into a descent.
  3. The crew did not apply maximum engine power.
  4. The ground proximity warning did not sound because the stall warning took precedence.
  5. Overspeed warning sounds.
  6. The Captain gives the order to climb.
  7. The aircraft collides with the sea.

To date, the accident has the highest death toll of any aviation accident involving an Airbus A310.[citation needed]

[edit] Aftermath

Kenya Airways compensated the families of 60 deceased Nigerians; each family received US$130,000 ($161,317 in 2012).[19]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 9 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b "REPORT – Accident which occurred on 30 January 2000 in the sea near Abidjan Airport to the Airbus 310-304 registered 5Y-BEN operated by Kenya Airways". Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile. http://www.bea-fr.org/docspa/2000/5y-n000130a/pdf/5y-n000130a.pdf. Retrieved 20 May 2011. 
  3. ^ a b "Kenyan plane crashes into sea". BBC News. 31 January 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/625188.stm. Retrieved 20 May 2011. 
  4. ^ a b c d "Rescuers seek more survivors of Kenya Airways crash". CNN. 31 January 2011. Archived from the original on 20 May 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20050520005258/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/africa/01/31/kenya.airways.crash.01/. Retrieved 20 May 2011. 
  5. ^ "Over 100 feared dead after Kenyan jet crash". The Guardian. 31 January 2000. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/jan/31/3?INTCMP=SRCH. Retrieved 20 May 2011. 
  6. ^ a b c "Airline's sound safety record". BBC News. 31 January 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/625558.stm. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
  7. ^ a b c "Airbus' reliability record". BBC News. 31 January 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/625770.stm. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
  8. ^ "Airbus A310 MSN 426". Airfleets.net. http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-a310-426.htm. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  9. ^ "Over 100 feared dead after Kenyan jet crash". The Guardian. 31 January 2000. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/jan/31/3?INTCMP=SRCH. Retrieved 10 June 2011. "The plane's final destination was Nairobi, Kenya - a popular route among Nigerians heading to Dubai for duty-free shopping." 
  10. ^ a b "Anguish of air crash families". BBC News. 31 January 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/626178.stm#lar. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
  11. ^ Ian Fisher (1 February 2000). "10 of 179 Survive Kenya Airbus Crash in the Atlantic". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/01/world/10-of-179-survive-kenya-airbus-crash-in-the-atlantic.html. Retrieved 20 May 2011. "Airport officials said it was airborne for not much longer than a minute when it crashed, breaking into many pieces." 
  12. ^ a b Karl Vick (1 February 2000). "A Grim Search at African Jet Crash Site; Ten Survivors Rescued, Scores of Bodies Recovered in Ivory Coast Waters". The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.). http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/48661212.html?dids=48661212:48661212&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+01%2C+2000&author=Karl+Vick&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=A+Grim+Search+at+African+Jet+Crash+Site%3B+Ten+Survivors+Rescued%2C+Scores+of+Bodies+Recovered+in+Ivory+Coast+Waters&pqatl=google. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
  13. ^ a b c "57BEN 30 January 2000." Ministry of Transport. (English translation by the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile). 103. Retrieved on 24 May 2011.
  14. ^ "Survivor's swim to safety". BBC News. 31 January 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/625683.stm. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
  15. ^ "Kenyan Plane Carrying 179 Crashes; at Least 8 Survive." The Washington Post. 31 January 2000. Retrieved on 9 June 2009.
  16. ^ "Report 5y-n000130." Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile. 12 (12/170). Retrieved on 25 October 2009.
  17. ^ "Report 5y-n000130." Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile. 11 (11/170). Retrieved on 25 October 2009.
  18. ^ "Report 5y-n000130." Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile. 2 (2/170). Retrieved on 25 October 2009.
  19. ^ "Kenya Air crash victims win compensation". IOL. AFP, SAPA (Lagos). 24 April 2001. http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/kenya-air-crash-victims-win-compensation-1.65112. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 

[edit] See also

Portal icon Kenya portal
Portal icon Côte d'Ivoire portal
Portal icon Aviation portal


[edit] External links

External images
Pre-crash photos of 5Y-BEN in Airliners.net
  • Incidents resulting in at least 50 deaths shown in italics  
  •   Deadliest incident shown in bold smallcaps

Coordinates: 5°20′N 4°02′W / 5.333°N 4.033°W / 5.333; -4.033

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kenya_Airways_Flight_431&oldid=474077134"
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