Investigation Summary
The flight was a chartered cargo operation transporting 21 passengers and 9 crew members, along with a load of onions and garlic, from N'Djamena to Brazzaville. Shortly after departure from N'Djamena, the landing gear failed to retract, creating significant aerodynamic drag. The crew declared an emergency and diverted to Bangui, Central African Republic. During the final approach to runway 35, witnesses noted a lack of engine noise. The aircraft contacted the ground approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) short of the runway, bounced, and broke up in the Guitangola district. The wreckage struck an empty house and exploded. Two individuals survived: a Chadian woman and flight engineer Laurent Tabako. Tabako later stated that the engines had failed before the landing attempt, confirming fuel exhaustion or starvation as the immediate cause of the crash.
Final Conclusions
The investigation, led by the government of the Central African Republic, utilized data from the recovered flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. The probable cause was determined to be a loss of control on final approach after all four engines stopped due to fuel exhaustion. This exhaustion occurred following a holding circuit performed by the crew to consume fuel in preparation for an emergency landing necessitated by the landing gear failure.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Systems & Failure Modes
Engines
The aircraft's engines reportedly stopped before the landing attempt, leading to a loss of thrust during the final approach.
Fuel Jettison System
The crew reportedly used the fuel dumping system to lighten the aircraft for an emergency landing, but may have exhausted the usable fuel supply.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was a Boeing 707-123B, registration 9XR-IS, manufactured in 1967.
- 02The landing gear failed to retract after departure from N'Djamena.
- 03The cargo included onions and garlic in addition to 17 passengers.
- 04The aircraft bounced upon initial contact with the ground before breaking up.
- 05The surviving flight engineer reported that all engines stopped prior to impact.
- 06The crash occurred approximately 4 km short of runway 35.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Accident Investigation and Recorder Recovery
Source ↗Following the crash, the government of the Central African Republic launched a formal investigation and successfully recovered both the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) to determine the sequence of events leading to the engine failures.