Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

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Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

C-GMXQ, the aircraft involved, photographed in 1989

Accident

Date 11 July 1991

Summary Under-inflated tire overheating, leading to an in-

flight fire

King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi

Site
Arabia
21°38′13″N 39°10′23″ECoordinates:  21°38′13
″N 39°10′23″E

Aircraft

Aircraft type Douglas DC-8-61

Operator Nationair Canada on behalf of Nigeria Airways

Registration C-GMXQ

Flight origin King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi

Arabia

Destination Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport, Sokoto,

Nigeria

Occupants 261

Passengers 247
 Crew 14

Fatalities 261

Survivors 0

Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 was a chartered passenger flight from Jeddah, Saudi

Arabia, to Sokoto, Nigeria, on 11 July 1991, which caught fire shortly after takeoff
from King Abdulaziz International Airport and crashed while attempting to return for
an emergency landing, killing all 247 passengers and 14 crew members on board. [1]
[2]
 The aircraft was a Douglas DC-8 operated by Nationair Canada for Nigeria
Airways. Flight 2120 is the deadliest accident involving a DC-8 and remains the
deadliest aviation disaster involving a Canadian airline. [3]

Contents

 1Aircraft and crew

 2Accident
 3Cause
 4Aftermath
 5In popular culture
 6See also
 7References
 8External links

Aircraft and crew[edit]

The aircraft involved in the accident was a 1968 Douglas DC-8-61, C-GMXQ, owned
by the Canadian company Nolisair, usually operated by Nationair Canada. At the
time of the accident, it was being wet-leased to Nigeria Airways, which in turn sub-
leased it to Holdtrade Services to transport Nigerian pilgrims to and from Mecca.
[4]
 The DC-8 was the primary aircraft type used by the airline. [5]
William Allan, the 47-year-old captain, a former Canadian Air Force pilot, had logged
10,700 flight hours and 1,000 hours in type. Kent Davidge, the 36-year-old first
officer, had logged 8,000 flight hours, of which 550 hours were in type, and was
the pilot flying on the accident flight. Victor Fehr, the 46-year-old flight engineer, had
logged 7,500 flight hours, of which 1,000 hours were in type. [3][6][7]

Accident[edit]
The aircraft departed King Abdulaziz International Airport bound for Sadiq Abubakar
III International Airport in Sokoto, but problems were reported shortly after takeoff.[4]
[8]
 Unknown to the crew, the aircraft had caught fire during departure, and though the
fire was not obvious, since it started in an area without fire warning systems, the
effects were numerous. Pressurization failed quickly, and the crew was deluged with
nonsensical warnings caused by fire-related circuit failures. In response to the
pressurization failure, Allan decided to remain at 2,000 feet (610 m), but the flight
was cleared to 3,000 feet (910 m) as a result of the controller mistaking Flight 2120
for a Saudia flight that was also reporting pressurization problems. This mix-up, a
result of Captain Allan mistakenly identifying as "Nationair Canada 2120" rather than
"Nigerian 2120," lasted for three minutes,[6] but was ultimately found not to have had
any effect on the outcome.[3]
Amidst this, First Officer Davidge, who had been flying C-GMXQ out, reported that
he was losing hydraulics.[3] The crew only became aware of the fire when a flight
attendant rushed into the cockpit reporting "smoke in the back ... real bad". [6][3] Shortly
afterwards, Davidge reported that he had lost ailerons, forcing Allan to take control;
as Allan took over, the cockpit voice recorder failed.[6] At this moment, the air traffic
controller realized that Flight 2120 was not the Saudia flight and was in trouble, and
directed them towards the runway. Allan subsequently contacted air traffic control
multiple times, among his pre-mortem communications being a request for
emergency vehicles.[6]
When the aircraft was about 18 km (11 mi; 10 nmi) from the airport and at an altitude
of 670 m (2,200 ft), a point where the landing gear could conceivably have been
lowered, it began to experience an inflight breakup and a number of bodies fell from
it, indicating that the fire by that time had consumed, at least partially, the cabin floor.
[6]
 Just 2.875 km (1.8 mi) short of the runway, the melting aircraft finally became
uncontrollable and crashed,[6] killing whatever portion of the 261 occupants on board
—including 247 passengers—that had not already suffocated or fallen out of the
aircraft.[4][8][9] Nine of the fourteen crew were identified, but "no attempt was made to
identify the passengers".[6]
As of July 2017, the accident remains the deadliest crash involving a Douglas DC-8,
[10]
 as well as the second-deadliest accident taking place on Saudi Arabian soil,
[11]
 after Saudia Flight 163.[12]

Cause[edit]
Prior to departure, the lead mechanic had noticed that the "No. 2 and No. 4 tyre
pressures were below the minimum for flight dispatch", [8] and attempted to inflate
them, but no nitrogen gas was readily available. The project manager, unwilling to
accept a delay, disregarded the problem and readied the aircraft for dispatch. [6] As
the aircraft was taxiing, the transfer of the load from the under-inflated No. 2 tire to
the No. 1 tire on the same portside axle resulted "in overdeflection, over-heating and
structural weakening of the No. 1 tyre".[8] "The No. 1 tyre failed very early on the take-
off roll," followed almost immediately by the No. 2. [8] The latter stopped rotating "for
reasons not established", and the subsequent friction of the wheel assembly with the
runway generated sufficient heat to start a self-sustaining fire. [8]
The crew realised there was a problem, but not the nature or seriousness of it. The
aircraft was not equipped with fire or heat sensors in the wheel assembly. The first
officer was recorded remarking, "We got a flat tire, you figure?" [6] According
to Transportation Safety Board of Canada members interviewed for an episode
of Mayday about the accident, standard procedures regarding tire failure during the
takeoff roll on the DC-8 did not include rejecting takeoff for tire or wheel failures,[3] so
the captain proceeded with the takeoff.
Due to common jet aircraft design, the accident became inevitable the moment the
landing gear was retracted, mere seconds after takeoff and long before an
emergency became apparent.[3] When this occurred, "burning rubber was brought
into close proximity with hydraulic and electrical system components," causing the
failure of both hydraulic and pressurisation systems that led to structural damage
and loss of control of the aircraft.[13][6] The Transportation Safety Board later
concluded, "had the crew left the landing gear extended, the accident might have
been averted."[6] Fuel, "probably introduced as a result of 'burn through' of the centre
fuel tank",[8] intensified the fire, which eventually consumed the cabin floor. People
began falling out of the aircraft when their seat harnesses burned through. "Despite
the considerable destruction to the airframe, the aircraft appeared to have been
controllable until just before the crash." [6]
It was discovered during the investigation that the mechanics had known about the
under-inflated tires since 7 July but that the project manager, lacking the relevant
training to make an informed decision, had prevented maintenance on the tires
because the aircraft was behind schedule, requiring them to record false pressure
readings in the log to make the aircraft seem airworthy. This meant that Nationair
Canada executives had pressured the colleagues of the cockpit crew to withhold
information that had serious safety implications. [3]

Aftermath[edit]
Soon after the accident, a group of Toronto-based Nationair Canada flight attendants
pooled funds to create a memorial plaque, inscribed with the names of the victims.
The memorial, complete with a cherry tree planted to commemorate their colleagues
who died in Jeddah, was given a permanent home at the head office of the Greater
Toronto Airports Authority.[14]
The aircrash, combined with Nationair Canada's poor reputation for on-time service
and mechanical problems, led to serious problems with public image and reliability
among tour operators. These difficulties were compounded when Nationair
Canada locked out its unionised flight attendants and proceeded to replace them
with strikebreakers on 19 November 1991. The lock-out lasted 15 months and by the
time it ended in early 1993, Nationair Canada found itself in severe financial trouble.
At the time, Nationair Canada owed the Canadian government millions of dollars in
unpaid landing fees. Creditors began seizing aircraft and demanded cash up front for
services. The company was declared bankrupt in May 1993, owing CDN$75 million.
[15]

In 1997, Robert Obadia, owner of Nationair Canada and its parent company Nolisair,
pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud in relation to the company's activities. [16]

In popular culture[edit]
An episode of Mayday in 2012, titled "Under Pressure", covered the accident. [3]

See also[edit]
 Nigeria portal
 Saudi Arabia portal

 Canada portal

 Aviation portal

 1990s portal
  Air France Flight 4590 – A 2000 plane crash caused by
an inflight fire triggered by tire burst on takeoff
 Aviation safety
 List of accidents and incidents involving airliners by
location
 List of accidents and incidents involving commercial
aircraft
 Mexicana Flight 940  – A 1986 crash involving landing
gear fire
 Propair Flight 420  – A 1998 crash caused by an inflight
fire resulting from brake drag during taxi
 Swissair Flight 306 – A 1963 crash caused by an inflight
fire triggered by a landing gear failure on takeoff
 ValuJet Flight 592  – A 1996 crash caused by an inflight
fire in the cargo hold

References[edit]
1. ^ "261 feared dead in Saudi plane crash". Reading Eagle.
(Pennsylvania).  Associated Press. 11 July 1991. p.  1.
2. ^ "Fire in landing gear preceded DC-8 crash". Eugene Register-
Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. 12 July 1991. p. 3A.
3. ^ Jump up to:                  "Under Pressure".  Mayday (Air Crash
a b c d e f g h i

Investigation)(television program). Cineflex, National Geographic

Channel.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Headlines – Confusion over Saudi DC-8
crash". Flight International.  140  (4276): 4. 17–23 July
1991.  ISSN  0015-3710. Archived from  the original on 13 January
2015. Retrieved  15 June2012.
5. ^ William Fowler. "Under Pressure". Mayday (Air Crash
Investigation)  (television program). Cineflex, National Geographic
Channel. The DC-8 was the primary aircraft for Nationair.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Tire Failure on Takeoff Sets Stage for
Fatal Inflight Fire and Crash"  (PDF).  Flight Safety Foundation.
September 1993. Archived from the original  (PDF) on 12 July
2018.
7. ^ "Nationair Crash Memorial Page". Nationair Canada History on
the Web. 27 January 2013. Archived from the original  on 10
October 2014. Retrieved  27 June 2013.[unreliable source?]
8. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g Accident description at the Aviation Safety
Network. Retrieved on 11 April 2013.
9. ^ "Catastrophe aérienne de Djeddah: 261 morts"  [Jeddah air
crash: 261 dead]. Le Monde (in French). 13 July 1991. Archived
from  the original on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June  2012.
10. ^ "Accident record for the Douglas DC-8". Aviation Safety
Network. Retrieved  30 July 2017.
11. ^ "Aviation accidents record for Saudi Arabia". Aviation Safety
Network. Retrieved  30 July 2017.
12. ^ Accident description for HZ-AHK at the Aviation Safety Network.
Retrieved on 24 June 2012.
13. ^ "Airline safety review – Fatal accidents: Non-scheduled
passenger flights"  (PDF).  Flight International: 22. 29 January – 4
 February 1992. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012.
Retrieved 15 June  2012.
14. ^ "Anniversary of Nationair plane crash passes quietly". CTV
News.  The Canadian Press. 10 July 2011. Archived from the
original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved  11 September 2014.
15. ^ "Nationair plie bagages"  (in French). CBC Digital Archives. 12
May 1993. Archived from  the original on 19 March 2014.
Retrieved 15 August  2013.
16. ^ "Robert Obadia doit verser 234 000 $ à ses créanciers".  Radio-
Canada Nouvelles (in French). 21 August 1998. Archived from the
original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 15 August  2013.

External links[edit]
 Cockpit Voice Recorder Database
 Nationair history site
 "261 Die as a Flight For Muslim Pilgrims Crashes Near
Jidda: 261 Reported Dead in Jetliner Crash". The New
York Times (Vol. 140, Issue 48, 659). The Associated
Press. 12 July 1991. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
 Accident history for King Abdulaziz International
Airport at Aviation Safety Network
show

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1991

show

Aviation accidents and incidents in Saudi Arabia

Categories: 
 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1991
 1991 in Saudi Arabia
 Aviation accidents and incidents in Saudi Arabia
 Aviation in Nigeria
 Airliner accidents and incidents caused by maintenance
errors
 Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight fires
 Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-8
 Nigeria Airways accidents and incidents
 July 1991 events in Asia
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The Douglas DC-8 is a narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft

Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-
135, Douglas announced in July 1955 its derived jetliner project. In October 1955, Pan Am
made the first order along with the competing Boeing 707, and many other airlines followed.
The first DC-8 was rolled out in Long Beach Airport on 9 April 1958 and flew for the first
time on 30 May. FAA certification was achieved in August 1959 and the DC-8 entered
service with Delta Air Lines on September 18.