4226
2002-MAY-04 · Gwammaja Quarters, Kano, Nigeria

EAS Airlines — Flight 4226

EAS Airlines Flight 4226 overran the runway during a high-temperature takeoff from Kano, Nigeria, and crashed into a densely populated residential area. The aircraft failed to achieve sufficient lift after rolling into the dirt at the end of the runway, which caused the engines to ingest massive amounts of dust. The crash killed 71 people on board and 78 people on the ground, making it the deadliest accident involving the BAC One-Eleven.

Aircraft
BAC One-Eleven 525FT
Registration
5N-ESF
Phase
Initial climb
Cause
Pilot Error
Souls on Board
77
Fatalities
149
Origin → Dest
Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (KAN), Nigeria → Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS), Nigeria
Report
Final report

Investigation Summary

The investigation focused on the crew's performance during a takeoff from a shorter-than-usual runway. Due to maintenance on Kano's primary 3,000-meter runway, the crew was using Runway 05/23, which was only 2,600 meters long. Although the aircraft was within weight limits, the high ambient temperature (36°C) and the crew's unfamiliarity with the shorter runway led to a delayed rotation. The aircraft overran the paved surface by 180 meters, kicking up a massive dust cloud. This dust was ingested by the Rolls-Royce Spey engines, causing a significant loss of thrust. Compounding the situation, the crew failed to retract the landing gear after becoming airborne, creating excessive drag that prevented the aircraft from climbing away from the Gwammaja residential district.

Final Conclusions

The Nigerian Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) concluded the primary cause was the crew's inability to get the aircraft airborne within the safe parameters of the available runway. Contributing factors included a breakdown in cockpit coordination, the failure to retract the landing gear to improve climb performance, and the ingestion of dust which compromised engine power.

Video Analysis

No video analysis linked for this case file yet.

Airframe & Maintenance

Airframe Hours
24,644
Cycles
16,844
Last Major Check
January 2001
Engines
Rolls-Royce Spey 512-14DW

Crew Experience

Captain

Total hours
14,000
On type
7,000

Peter Abayomi Inneh, age 49.

First Officer

Total hours
8,000
On type
3,350

Chris Adewole Adegboye, age 47.

Systems & Failure Modes

i

Rolls-Royce Spey 512-14DW

The engines lost power after ingesting large amounts of dust during the runway overrun.

i

Landing Gear

The gear remained extended after takeoff, creating drag that prevented the aircraft from gaining sufficient altitude.

i

Flight Data Recorder

The device was recovered but was found to be unusable due to heavy impact and fire damage.

Interesting Facts

  • 01The accident is the deadliest involving the BAC One-Eleven aircraft type.
  • 02The aircraft was powered by two Rolls-Royce Spey 512-14DW engines.
  • 03The No. 2 engine had been transferred from another aircraft (5N-ESD) just two days before the crash.
  • 04The primary 3,000m runway at Kano was closed for maintenance, forcing the use of a 2,600m runway.
  • 05Both the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) were recovered but were rendered unusable due to severe impact and fire damage.
  • 06The investigation found that the aircraft had been operated for 52 days with a known engine defect prior to the engine swap.

Safety Actions & Advisories

Runway Management Review

The investigation highlighted the risks of operating from shortened runways during maintenance without adequate crew performance recalculations.

Location

Gwammaja Quarters, Kano, Nigeria · 6.4500, 3.4000

Case File History

  1. New evidenceUpdated event timeline, findings and systems analysis.
  2. New evidenceUpdated event timeline and findings.

Related Cases

Case ID · eas4226-2002Last updated · Filed

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