727 belly ldg @ Abuja

[readywhenreaching]

Just learnt of a mishap in Nigeria on Saturday.
Chanchangi 727 suffered damage to belly on landing.
understand that main and nosegear failed due to poss. windshear.

Really sketchy details. Anyone who can shed light ?

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=11713

119 Survive as Plane Crashlands
From Cletus Akwaya in Abuja, 03.13.2005

One hundred and nineteen passengers aboard a Chanchangi Airline plane escaped unhurt yesterday in Abuja as the aircraft crashlanded.
The incident occured around 4p.m. at the Nnamdi Azikwe Interna-tional Airport, Abuja.
Details of the accident were still sketchy last night as there was no statement from either the airliner or the Federal Airport Autho-rity of Nigeria (FAAN).
THISDAY gathered that the plane which had taken off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos landed on its belly at the Abuja end due to excessive breeze.
“The incident occured when the plane was about to land. The breeze forced it to crashland, it rained about that time and the plane landed on its belly rather than the tyres,” said one eyewitness at the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport.
All the passsengers were promptly evacuated by FAAN officials and workers.
A FAAN senior official confirmed that some of the authority’s workers were quickly mobilised to evacuate the passengers and clean up the airport.
There was no closure of the airport.
Officials of the Ministry of Aviation could not be immediately reached last night to speak on the incident.
It would be recalled that this is not the first time an aircraft in the fleet of the Chanchangi Airline wouuld be involved in a near mishap in recent times.
Early in the year, the aviation sector and indeed the entire country was jolted when one of the airline’s planes crashlanded at the Lagos Murtala Mohammed Airport. The inability of the craft’s tyres to unfurl while decending from a flight had caused it to also land on its belly.
No casualty was also recorded in that incident.

[sammypilot]

What a great piece of prose - love it.

[srs what?]

What a great piece of prose - love it.

More a nice little story than a News article.

[Doors to Automatic]

Excessive Breeze? Is that a 2kts gusting to 3Kts as opposed to a 1kt steady waft? :p :p

[No comment]

Yuckspeak Series of 1,000,000

"Three Greens" - Tyres unfurled

[Continuous Ignition]

Anyone have an info as to the reg. of the aircraft involved?

I know one or two of the B727-225's I used to ride around on as a flight mechanic went to work for them when my last outfit ceased ops.

Really nice machines and some of the last 727's built. Hate to see one of those fine jets bent up! :ooh:

[TyroPicard]

Two wheels-ups this year, and no injuries.

Practice makes perfect?

TP

[maxalt]

Continuous Ignition, some 20 years ago I saw one of those 727's on the ramp at Kano after an interesting 'event'.
It had taken off overweight (allegedly), downwind, from an intersection...probably at reduced t/o thrust too.

It failed to get airborne within the existing paved surface length, ploughed through the approach lights at the far end, ripped the belly from stem to stern, mangled the undercarriage, and spiked the two pods with large shafts of metal. How it flew I don't know. How the engines kept going...was a miracle. How the twits up front got around the circuit and back to earth...defies belief. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the Captain was the Chief Pilot and the j/seat passenger was the Air safety Officer.

That would probably also explain how the incident never appeared in the annual database in Flight International. Or anywhere else that I know of.

Lufthansa probably photocopied the cheque however, after they sent a B747 with 20 engineers, all their equipment and food (even the toilet rolls) and fixed it - under canvas - right on the main ramp in Kano airport.

In Nigeria - some things never change.

[LOKE]

maxalt:

I saw the A/C that you refer to in Kano also. Exactly like you described it. I went over and chatted with the Lufthansa mechanics. I looked at the engine cowls and noticed that though thre where some pretty sizable gouges from the App Lights, it hadn't quite gone deep enough to hit the rotating sections.

I said "wow, a few more meters and these guys would have eatin' it." He smiled and said "centimeters."

Incredable,

LK

[JJflyer]

How much was it insured for?

:}

[Fokker28]

Great. I wonder how long I am going to be thinking, "unfurl" every time I extend the gear.