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The investigation revealed that the fire had started in the aft C3 cargo compartment. The fire was intense enough to burn through the cabin floor, causing passengers seated in that area of the fire to move further forward in the cabin prior to the emergency landing.<ref name=AccidentReport/> Saudi officials subsequently found two [[butane]] stoves in the burned-out remains of the airliner, with a used fire extinguisher near one of them. Some Middle Eastern airlines used to allow passengers to use butane stoves on board - a practice unthinkable on Western airlines. The Saudi government had recently passed regulations forbidding them, but Muslim pilgrims still tried to smuggle them aboard.<ref name=Stove/><ref>[http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fire-on-saudi-jet-kills-301 This Day in History: August 19] from [[The History Channel]]</ref>
The investigation revealed that the fire had started in the aft C3 cargo compartment. The fire was intense enough to burn through the cabin floor, causing passengers seated in that area of the fire to move further forward in the cabin prior to the emergency landing.<ref name=AccidentReport/> Saudi officials subsequently found two [[butane]] stoves in the burned-out remains of the airliner, with a used fire extinguisher near one of them. Some Middle Eastern airlines used to allow passengers to use butane stoves on board - a practice unthinkable on Western airlines. The Saudi government had recently passed regulations forbidding them, but Muslim pilgrims still tried to smuggle them aboard.<ref name=Stove/><ref>[http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fire-on-saudi-jet-kills-301 This Day in History: August 19] from [[The History Channel]]</ref>


Walter Muller, a former chief of the Policy Analysis Division of the [[Federal Aviation Administration]], filed a lawsuit against Lockheed, Saudia, and [[Trans World Airlines]], an American airline that trained Saudi pilots and supervised the Saudi maintenance program. Muller's brother, Jack A. Muller, and his sister in law, Elizabeth S. Muller, died in the fire. Muller's suit stated that Lockheed allowed for "dangerous materials to be incorporated in the fuselage," that there was no vent system to distribute the gases away from the passengers, and that a sufficient oxygen system did not exist. Muller's suit accused Saudia of not properly maintaining the aircraft and providing safety for passengers and accused TWA of not properly maintaining the Saudia aircraft and not properly training crew.<ref name="AviationWeekSuitFiled"/><ref>"[http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10C15FE345511728DDDAE0994D8415B8084F1D3 Family Suing in Saudi Airliner Fire; Crew Found Partly at Fault]," ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref><ref name="Haine" />
Walter Muller, a former chief of the Policy Analysis Division of the [[Federal Aviation Administration]], filed a lawsuit against Lockheed, Saudia, and [[Trans World Airlines]], an American airline that trained Saudi pilots and supervised the Saudi maintenance program. Muller's brother, Jack A. Muller, and his sister in law, Elizabeth S. Muller, died in the fire. Muller's suit stated that Lockheed allowed for "dangerous materials to be incorporated in the fuselage," that there was no vent system to distribute the gases away from the passengers, and that a sufficient oxygen system did not exist. Muller's suit accused Saudia of not properly maintaining the aircraft and providing safety for passengers and accused TWA of not properly maintaining the Saudia aircraft and not properly training crew.<ref name="AviationWeekSuitFiled"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10C15FE345511728DDDAE0994D8415B8084F1D3|title=Family Suing in Saudi Airliner Fire; Crew Found Partly at Fault]|last=Witkin|first=Richard|paper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 17, 1980}}</ref><ref name="Haine" />


After the event, the airline revised its training and emergency procedures. [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]] also removed the insulation from above the rear cargo area, and added [[glass laminate]] structural reinforcement.
After the event, the airline revised its training and emergency procedures. [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]] also removed the insulation from above the rear cargo area, and added [[glass laminate]] structural reinforcement.

Revision as of 10:20, 23 June 2013

Saudia Flight 163
Accident
Date19 August 1980
SummaryIn-flight fire in cargo hold, pilot error
SiteRiyadh, Saudi Arabia
Aircraft
Aircraft typeLockheed L1011-385-1-15 TriStar 200
OperatorSaudia Arabian Airlines
RegistrationHZ-AHKdisaster
Flight originQuaid-e-Azam Int'l Airport
Karachi, Pakistan
StopoverRiyadh International Airport
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
DestinationJeddah International Airport
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Passengers287
Crew14
Fatalities301 (all)

Saudia Arabian Airlines Flight 163 was a scheduled passenger flight of Saudia that caught fire after takeoff from Riyadh International Airport (now the Riyadh Air Base) on a flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia[1] on Tuesday, August 19, 1980. All 287 passengers and 14 crew on board the Lockheed L-1011-200 TriStar registered HZ-AHK, died after the aircraft made an emergency landing back at the Riyadh airport.

At the time, the incident was the second deadliest single aircraft disaster in history, after Turkish Airlines Flight 981.[2] It was also the third deadliest aircraft disaster overall, after the Tenerife airport disaster of 1977 and Turkish Airlines Flight 981.[3] It was also the highest death toll of any aviation accident in Saudi Arabia and the highest death toll of any accident involving a Lockheed L-1011 anywhere in the world. It is also the deadliest aviation disaster that did not involve a crash on impact or mid-flight break up.

Passengers and crew

A Saudia L-1011.

Saudi officials said that most of the passengers were Saudis or Pakistanis,[4] with many of the passengers being Pakistani religious pilgrims.[5] The aviation directorate stated that 82 of the passengers boarded in Karachi and, of the passengers who boarded in Riyadh, 32 were religious pilgrims from Iran.[4] Diplomats in Jeddah said that in addition to the Iranian, Saudi and Pakistani passengers, there were four Koreans, three Britons, two Thais, one Finn, one Irishman, two Americans and one Japanese on board the flight. The crew included six Filipinos, three Pakistanis, and one Briton. Both the pilot and co-pilot were Saudi nationals with the flight engineer being a US national, Brad Curtis.

Fire

Flight 163 took off at 18:08 GMT to complete its final leg to Jeddah. Almost seven minutes into the flight, the crew received warnings of smoke in the plane's aft cargo compartment, C3. The next four minutes were spent by the crew trying to confirm the warnings, and by the flight engineer going back into the cabin to confirm the presence of smoke in the cabin. The captain decided to return to the airport. The thrust lever for the number 2 engine (center engine) later became stuck as the fire burned through the operating cable, the engine was shut down on final approach.

The captain declared an emergency and returned to Riyadh International Airport and landed safely. After touchdown, contrary to the captain's declaration of an emergency landing, the airplane continued to a taxiway at the end of the runway and exited the runway, stopping on the taxiway 2 minutes 40 seconds after touchdown. The airport fire rescue equipment were stationed at the landing section of the runway expecting an emergency stop and evacuation. Why the captain did not immediately order an emergency evacuation of the aircraft is unknown. Because the fire rescue equipment was further down the runway it took extra time to arrive at the aircraft, which had used the entire length of a 4000 m runway to slow and exit onto a taxiway. The aircraft stopped on the taxiway facing the opposite direction from landing. On arrival at the aircraft the rescue personnel did not immediately attempt to open any of the aircraft doors as the engines on the wings were still running. These two engines were shut down three minutes and 15 seconds after the aircraft came to a stop. There was no external fire visible at this time, but flames were observed through the windows at the rear of the aircraft. Twenty-three minutes after engine shut down, the R2 door (second door on the right side) was opened by ground personnel, whereupon the aircraft burst into flames, and was consumed by fire.[6] Autopsies were conducted on some of the non-Saudi nationals including the American flight engineer. All had perished from smoke inhalation and not burns, which indicated that they had died long before the R2 door was opened.

One final transmission was received after the plane stopped, indicating that the emergency evacuation was about to begin. All of the victims were found in the forward half of the fuselage.

It took 23 minutes from the engine shutdown until the fuselage was accessed. Saudi reports stated that the crew could not get the plug-type doors to open in time.[7] It is assumed that most passengers and flight attendants had become incapacitated during the landing roll or would not have attempted to open a door on a moving aircraft. It is known that the aircraft remained pressurized during the landing roll as the cabin pressurization system was on standby and the aircraft was found with both pressurization doors almost completely closed. These pressurization doors should have opened completely on touchdown to depressurize the aircraft. The crew were found still in their flight station seats. The source of the fire in the C3 is unknown.[citation needed]

Aftermath

The investigation revealed that the fire had started in the aft C3 cargo compartment. The fire was intense enough to burn through the cabin floor, causing passengers seated in that area of the fire to move further forward in the cabin prior to the emergency landing.[6] Saudi officials subsequently found two butane stoves in the burned-out remains of the airliner, with a used fire extinguisher near one of them. Some Middle Eastern airlines used to allow passengers to use butane stoves on board - a practice unthinkable on Western airlines. The Saudi government had recently passed regulations forbidding them, but Muslim pilgrims still tried to smuggle them aboard.[3][8]

Walter Muller, a former chief of the Policy Analysis Division of the Federal Aviation Administration, filed a lawsuit against Lockheed, Saudia, and Trans World Airlines, an American airline that trained Saudi pilots and supervised the Saudi maintenance program. Muller's brother, Jack A. Muller, and his sister in law, Elizabeth S. Muller, died in the fire. Muller's suit stated that Lockheed allowed for "dangerous materials to be incorporated in the fuselage," that there was no vent system to distribute the gases away from the passengers, and that a sufficient oxygen system did not exist. Muller's suit accused Saudia of not properly maintaining the aircraft and providing safety for passengers and accused TWA of not properly maintaining the Saudia aircraft and not properly training crew.[7][9][5]

After the event, the airline revised its training and emergency procedures. Lockheed also removed the insulation from above the rear cargo area, and added glass laminate structural reinforcement.

The National Transportation Safety Board recommended that aircraft use halomethane extinguishers instead of traditional hand-held fire extinguishers.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19800819-1
  2. ^ Witkin, Richard. "SAFETY BOARD URGES IMPROVEMENTS IN FIREPROOFING OF JUMBO JET BAYS." The New York Times. Wednesday 11 February 1981. Late City Final Edition, A20, Column 3. Retrieved on 24 July 2011.
  3. ^ a b Did stove cause disaster? Associated Press, 1980-08-21.
  4. ^ a b "Mecca pilgrims among victims Gas stoves found in burned plane." The Globe and Mail. Thursday 29 August 1980.
  5. ^ a b c Haine, Edgar A. (2000). Disaster in the Air. Associated University Presses. pp. 67–69.
  6. ^ a b Official accident report from Saudi Arabian Presidency of Civil Aviation
  7. ^ a b "Saudi Fire Negligence Suit Filed." Aviation Week & Space Technology. 27 October 1980. Air Transport Section Page 32.
  8. ^ This Day in History: August 19 from The History Channel
  9. ^ Witkin, Richard (17 October 1980). "Family Suing in Saudi Airliner Fire; Crew Found Partly at Fault]". {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |paper= ignored (help)
External image
image icon Airliners.Net Picture of Saudia 163

24°42′42″N 46°43′37″E / 24.71167°N 46.72694°E / 24.71167; 46.72694

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