View Full Version : Algeria 737 crashes
baldspot
6th Mar 2003, 14:32
French news reporting that an Algerian airliner, 737, has crashed in southern Algeria. approx 100 people on board. Accident shortly after take-off for flight to Algiers.
Confirmed as Air Algerie. Came down outside Tamanrasset. No survivors reported.
reverserunlocked
6th Mar 2003, 14:41
97 dead, according to Sky News. Another sad day for aviation.
RIP
LGW Vulture
6th Mar 2003, 14:51
BBC Reports:
"The Air Algerie aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Tamanrasset".
:(
Yet another sad day.
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - An Air Algerie jet crashed shortly after takeoff in southern Algeria on Thursday, killing 97 people on board, the airline said.
The crash of the Boeing 737 took place just minutes after the plane left Tamanrasset, in southern Algeria. The plane was headed toward the capital, Algiers.
At least one person survived the crash, airline officials said. There were 97 passengers on the plane and an unknown number of crew members.
Prime Minister Ali Benflis convened an emergency crisis unit to deal with the crash, thought to be the first in the history of Algerian commercial aviation. Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni and Transportation Minister Abdelmalek Sellal were headed to the scene.
Tamanrasset, at the base of the Hoggar Mountains, is a stop for travelers in the Sahara Desert and is known for its ancient archaeological sites and prehistoric paintings and engravings.
Tamanrasset is 800 miles south of Algiers.
RIP
320DRIVER
6th Mar 2003, 15:01
WX history for the past few hours...
DAAT 060800Z 10008KT CAVOK 17/M07 Q1020 =
DAAT 060830Z 13008KT CAVOK 18/M07 Q1020 =
DAAT 060900Z 15012KT CAVOK 19/M09 Q1021 =
DAAT 061030Z 16010KT CAVOK 21/M08 Q1021 =
DAAT 061100Z 18010KT CAVOK 21/M07 Q1021 =
DAAT 061130Z 00000KT CAVOK 21/M07 Q1021 =
DAAT 061200Z 00000KT CAVOK 23/M05 Q1020 =
DAAT 061230Z 00000KT CAVOK 24/M05 Q1020 =
DAAT 061300Z 00000KT CAVOK 23/M10 Q1020 =
DAAT 061330Z 00000KT CAVOK 23/M10 Q1020 =
DAAT 061400Z 00000KT CAVOK 23/M05 Q1019 =
DAAT 061430Z 00000KT CAVOK 24/M05 Q1019 =
DAAT 061430Z 00000KT CAVOK 23/M05 Q1019 =
DAAT 061500Z 00000KT CAVOK 24/M02 Q1018 =
DAAT 061530Z 00000KT CAVOK 23/M02 Q1018 =
Some info at:
http://www.aircraft-charter-world.com/airports/africa/algeria.htm
BoeingMEL
6th Mar 2003, 17:23
Certainly NOT the first Air Algerie fatal accident... this was a sister ship of their 737 which crashed near Coventry (Baginton) killing both crewmembers about 9 years ago following a shaky NDB approach in fog.
The 737 was on of AA's oldest apparently. Survivor was ejected during the crash, most of the deaths were by fire. Half of the populace of Tam are at the airport trying to get info or else searching the wreckage. There was a similar accident at Tam in the 70's - the aircraft flew into a nearby mountain, again with one survivor.
Apparently 11 expats dead seven of whom were French.(Fr Embassy source).
Steady on Mike Jenvey ! What BoeingMEL says about Coventry is FACT and in answer to the earlier press comment that this was Air Algerie's first fatal accident. Therefore, it is relevant!
Rwy in Sight
6th Mar 2003, 20:00
On May 19 1960 an Air Algerie Caravelle (F-OBNI) collided with a Stampe while on an ILS approach in Orly airport in Paris. There was one dead and several wonded. So it is not the first accident but nevertheless a good record.
A bad day for the aviation.
Rwy in Sight
PaperTiger
6th Mar 2003, 21:11
Really, this information is easily available without some hack journo making a guess :mad:
11/4/67 DC-4 39 dead
26/7/69 Caravelle 33 dead
24/1/79 Nord 262 14 dead
21/12/94 737 5 dead
from Aviation Safety Network (http://aviation-safety.net/database/country/7T.shtml)
prattbrat
7th Mar 2003, 03:31
A witness told the radio as the aircraft accelerated down the runway ahead of take-off, one of its engines appeared to catch fire.
Source:ABC
All but one of the 103 people aboard an Air Algerie passenger plane died when it crashed on taking off from the Sahara desert town of Tamanrasset in southern Algeria, state media reports.
The disaster was the worst in Algeria since the country gained independence from France four decades ago.
Seven French citizens were among those who died in the crash, Algeria's APS news agency quoted airport officials as saying.
The French foreign ministry confirmed that several French nationals appeared to be among the dead, without giving details.
The sole survivor, a young soldier, was critically injured in the crash, which occurred 1,900 kilometres south of the coastal capital Algiers, local radio said.
An Air Algerie official said the crash, which happened at around 14:45 GMT appeared to be due to a technical problem.
A witness told the radio as the aircraft accelerated down the runway ahead of take-off, one of its engines appeared to catch fire.
Several witnesses say the Boeing 737-200 veered off its path and crashed 600 metres further on.
French President Jacques Chirac voiced his condolences to the relatives of the dead, in a message to his Algerian counterpart, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Mr Bouteflika issued a similar message to Mr Chirac expressing his sympathy for the French nationals who were killed.
South African President Thabo Mbeki also sent his condolences to Bouteflika, adding "our thoughts and prayers are with the Algerian people, in particular friends and family members of the victims".
The plane had been headed from Tamanrasset to Algiers, via the desert town of Ghardaia.
There were 97 passengers and six crew members on board, the official told national radio.
An Air Algerie official said 59 of the passengers had been going to Ghardaia and 38 to the capital.
Firemen, helped by customs officers, policemen, soldiers and volunteers swiftly mounted a rescue operation, local radio said.
The Government set up a crisis unit headed by Prime Minister Ali Benflis and dispatched the transport and interior ministers Tamanrasset, the media reported.
A second crisis team was formed at Algiers airport to inform the victims' families, who said they had waited there for at least two hours before obtaining any information about the fate of their loved ones.
Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni said an investigation had been launched into the causes of the disaster.
A technician told Algerian radio the plane was one of three new Boeings recently acquired by Air Algerie, whose fleet is otherwise in need of renewal.
A technician told Algerian radio the plane was one of three new Boeings recently acquired by Air Algerie, whose fleet is otherwise in need of renewal.
According my info it was 7T-VEZ, an old 200 series delivered to AAH in 1983.
moggie
7th Mar 2003, 09:17
Maybe a 20year old B737 qualifies as a "new aeroplane" in their fleet?
Ok, maybe bad taste but just goes to prove how much guesswork, false information and mis-quoting goes on.
Algeria does not have the greatest reputation for freedom of the media, so I suggest we take any press releases with a pinch of salt for now.
Loss of one engine should not cause a crash - unless other systems fail at the same time. Eyewitness reports are usually none to valuable and get less accurate each time the witness retells the story with unconcious elaboration to make it more interesting.
punkalouver
28th Sep 2005, 05:23
The final report is available on the French accident investigation website.
http://www.bea-fr.org/docspa/2003/7t-z030306/pdf/7t-z030306.pdf
Engine failure just after rotation. Copilots initial reaction while flying is "Bismi Allah Bismi allah bismi allah". No calls made concerning engine failure procedures. Gear does not get retracted. Captain takes control but they seem to argue the rest of the short flight over control of the aircraft as the speed decays. Why does the speed decrease? Because the power on the good engine somehow decreases significantly. Yet the Algerian investigation board doesn't make any attempt to explain this very crucial event.
I must say that I appreciate the French publishing some of these African reports which usually seem to disappear into nothingness. Now reading the 727 in Benin. What a complete joke. A310 in Abidjan will follow.
JJflyer
28th Sep 2005, 05:45
To achieve the widest possible audience in the aviation community this report is written in English... NOT:mad:
I have read Chinese, Belgian, Indian, Malaysian etc accident reports all duplicated in English.
Thanx for Punkalouver for translation as my french is very limited.
JJ
NigelOnDraft
28th Sep 2005, 07:35
JJflyer
To achieve the widest possible audience in the aviation community this report is written in English... NOT To save you making even more of a d*ckhead of yourself try this :)
English Version (http://www.bea-fr.org/docspa/2003/7t-z030306a/pdf/7t-z030306a.pdf)
big fraidy cat
28th Sep 2005, 08:12
In case any of you have problems downloading that link to the English Version (as I did), try the following link:
www.bea.aero/docspa/2003/7t-z030306a/pdf/7t-z030306a.pdf
DingerX
28th Sep 2005, 11:04
Because the power on the good engine somehow decreases significantly. Yet the Algerian investigation board doesn't make any attempt to explain this very crucial event.
Very interesting indeed. The report (which is now crashing acrobat for me, so excuse me if I get a few details slightly off) has a bunch of findings and conclusions, which are not very complementary to the way the crew managed the flight:
The only attempt at a checklist was interrupted when the Chief cabin crew member came into the cockpit and talked with the captain during taxi.
No briefing was made.
After the engine failure, the captain took over control, without ascertaining the problem.
The gear were never retracted
The captain tried to maintain an 18-degree pitch -- not ideal for post engine failure -- and the aircraft stalled and crashed.
yet, the report also has:
A) In the simulator, even maintaining 18-degree nose-up pitch and gear down, the aircraft would continue to fly -- a reduction in power on the good (right) engine was needed for the aircraft to crash.
B) Boeing's analysis of the FDR includes the statement that only a drop in (right) engine power could explain the plots.
C) the left engine (which failed) Fuel Flow gauge was recovered reading something like 4800 kg/hour. The right engine FF was at 200 kg/hour.
(before you ask, the throttles were recovered free-moving)
lomapaseo
28th Sep 2005, 17:40
I have no idea why the report is so difficult to understand by myself. Perhaps it is the strange noma-clatured or translation.
I see no way to corroborate the causal factors relating to the engine from the english version report. The finding of molten splatter near the injectors of the flame tubes doesn't correlate as secondary to a HP turbine failure.
The lack of comparative descriptrion with the right engine also leaves one guessing about it's actual ability to produce power.
Are the investigators suggesting that the power was purposedly reduced on this engine after the left engine had failed on its own, Or are we to assume that the engine was overboosted and lost power due to overheat effects?
JJflyer
28th Sep 2005, 19:05
Stand corrected. I found the english version.
Nigelondraft. Get off your high horse matey. Everyone gets it wrong every now and then.
JJ