Investigation Summary
The flight was operating with a three-hour delay, and the captain arrived late, leading the first officer to perform the pre-departure checklists alone. During taxi, the captain was distracted by conversation with the chief flight attendant rather than focusing on flight operations or briefing for potential emergencies. The first officer was the Pilot Flying (PF) during the takeoff roll. Five seconds after rotation, at a height of 78 feet, the number 1 (left) engine suffered a turbine failure. The captain immediately took control, but failed to follow standard handover procedures or respond to the first officer's correct suggestion to retract the landing gear. As the aircraft climbed to approximately 400 feet, the captain maintained an inappropriate rate of climb for single-engine operations and reduced thrust on the working right engine. The first officer attempted to restore power, but the captain pulled the thrust lever back and instructed her to stop. This lack of teamwork and the high drag from the extended gear caused the airspeed to decay from 158 knots to 126 knots, triggering the stick shaker and a 'Don't Sink' GPWS alarm before the aircraft stalled and crashed.
Final Conclusions
The investigation concluded the accident was caused by the loss of an engine during a critical flight phase, the failure to retract the landing gear, and the captain taking control before identifying the problem. Contributing factors included perfunctory flight preparation, the high takeoff weight relative to the high-altitude and high-temperature environment, and the total absence of teamwork (CRM) after the failure occurred.
Video Analysis
Pilots Forget Their Roles | Air Algérie Flight 6289 — On 6 March 2003, an Air Algérie Boeing 737-200 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tamanrasset, Algeria, following an engine failure and a breakdown in crew coordination.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Obtained 737 license in 2001.
First Officer
Algeria's first female commercial pilot.
Systems & Failure Modes
Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17A
The left engine suffered a turbine failure during the initial climb phase, caused by a fatigue failure of a stage 1 nozzle guide vane blade.
Landing Gear
The gear was never retracted following the engine failure, which prevented the aircraft from maintaining sufficient airspeed on a single engine.
Stick Shaker
Activated for one second to warn the crew of an impending stall as airspeed dropped to 134 knots.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was named 'Monts du Daia'.
- 02There was only one survivor, a young man seated in the last row who was thrown from the aircraft.
- 03The airport elevation was 4,518 feet and the ambient temperature was 23°C, creating high density altitude conditions.
- 04The first officer, Fatima Yousfi, was Algeria's first female commercial pilot.
- 05The landing gear remained extended throughout the entire flight sequence, significantly increasing drag.
- 06The flight was operating with a three-hour delay, contributing to a rushed atmosphere and perfunctory pre-flight preparation.
Safety Actions & Advisories
CRM Training Enhancement
Investigators recommended that Air Algérie ensure cockpit resource management training effectively heightens awareness regarding strict respect for hand-over procedures and task-sharing.
Independent Investigative Body
A recommendation was issued for the Algerian government to create an independent aircraft accident investigative body, though this had not been enacted as of 2024.
Location
ACCIDENT SITE · Coordinates taken from the entered by an editor.