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Tragic KQ Flight 431 crash in Ivory coast!
Flight 431 of Kenya Airways meets a tragic end as it crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near the Ivory Coast coastline, resulting in the loss of 169 lives.
30-01-2000
Kenya Airways Flight 431, an international route from Abidjan to Lagos and Nairobi, ended tragically on January 30, 2000. The Airbus A310-300, named Harambee Star and registered as 5Y-BEN, crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff from Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Of the 179 people on board, including 169 passengers, only ten survived.
This incident marked the deadliest crash involving the Airbus A310 and became the deadliest in the history of Ivory Coast aviation. It was also the first fatal crash for Kenya Airways. The French BEA conducted an investigation, determining that the crash resulted from the flight crew's improper response to a false stall warning. In response, the BEA recommended enhanced pilot training for handling false stall warnings, and new stall recovery procedures were to be incorporated into future flight operation manuals. The Airbus A310-304, with registration 5Y-BEN, had been in service with Kenya Airways since September 1986, accumulating 58,115 flight hours by the time of the accident. It was equipped with GE CF6-80C2A2 turbofan engines.
The flight was under the command of Captain Paul Muthee, a 44-year-old pilot with extensive experience, including 1,664 hours on the Airbus A310. First Officer Lazaro Mutumbi Mulli, aged 43, had 7,295 flight hours, with 5,768 on the Airbus A310. Both pilots had completed four landings and takeoffs at Abidjan Airport on the day of the accident. The tragic event began as Flight KQ430 from Nairobi, with a layover in Lagos before reaching its final destination in Abidjan. Due to adverse weather conditions in Lagos caused by harmattan winds, the flight continued directly to Abidjan after a three-hour layover.
Shortly after takeoff from Abidjan, the stall warning activated when the first officer attempted to retract the landing gear. Despite the crew's efforts, including a controlled descent and attempts to silence the warnings, the aircraft could not recover. It crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, 2 kilometers east of the airport, resulting in the complete destruction of the airframe.
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