Country
code

Beirut Governorate

Crash of a Boeing 737-8AS off Beyrouth: 90 killed

Date & Time: Jan 25, 2010 at 0241 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
ET-ANB
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Beirut - Addis Ababa
MSN:
29935/1061
YOM:
2002
Flight number:
ET409
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
82
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
90
Captain / Total flying hours:
10233
Captain / Total hours on type:
188.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
673
Copilot / Total hours on type:
350
Aircraft flight hours:
26459
Aircraft flight cycles:
17823
Circumstances:
On 25 January 2010, at 00:41:30 UTC, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 409, a Boeing 737-800 registered ET-ANB, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea about 5 NM South West of Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport (BRHIA), Beirut, Lebanon. ET 409 was being operated under the provisions of the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Regulations (ECAR) and as a scheduled international flight between BRHIA and Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) - Ethiopia. It departed Beirut with 90 persons on board: 2 flight crew (a Captain and a First Officer), 5 cabin crew, an IFSO and 82 regular passengers. The flight departed at night on an instrument flight plan. Low clouds, isolated cumulonimbus (CB) and thunderstorms were reported in the area. The flight was initially cleared by ATC on a LATEB 1 D departure then the clearance was changed before take-off to an “immediate right turn direct Chekka”. After take-off ATC (Tower) instructed ET 409 to turn right on a heading of 315°. ET 409 acknowledged and heading 315° was selected on the Mode Control Panel (MCP). As the aircraft was on a right turn, Control suggested to ET 409 to follow heading 270° “due to weather”. However, ET 409 continued right turn beyond the selected heading of 315° and Control immediately instructed them to “turn left now heading 270°”. ET 409 acknowledged, the crew selected 270° on the MCP and initiated a left turn. ET 409 continued the left turn beyond the instructed/selected heading of 270° despite several calls from ATC to turn right heading 270° and acknowledgment from the crew. ET 409 reached a southerly track before sharply turning left until it disappeared from the radar screen and crashed into the sea 4‟ 59” after the initiation of the take-off roll (4‟17” in the air). The aircraft impacted the water surface around 5 NM South West of BRHIA and all occupants were fatally injured. Search and Rescue (S&R) operations were immediately initiated. The DFDR and CVR were retrieved from the sea bed and were read, as per the Lebanese Government decision, at the BEA facility at Le Bourget, France. The recorders data revealed that ET 409 encountered during flight two stick shakers for a period of 27” and 26”. They also recorded 11 “Bank Angle” aural warnings at different times during the flight and an over-speed clacker towards the end of the flight. The maximum recorded AOA was 32°, maximum recorded bank angle was 118° left, maximum recorded speed was 407.5 knots, maximum recorded G load was 4.76 and maximum recorded nose down pitch value 63.1°. The DFDR recording stopped at 00:41:28 with the aircraft at 1291‟. The last radar screen recording was at 00:41:28 with the aircraft at 1300‟. The last CVR recording was a loud noise just prior to 00:41:30.
Probable cause:
Probable Causes:
1- The flight crew's mismanagement of the aircraft's speed, altitude, headings and attitude through inconsistent flight control inputs resulting in a loss of control.
2- The flight crew failure to abide by CRM principles of mutual support and calling deviations hindered any timely intervention and correction.
Contributing Factors:
1- The manipulation of the flight controls by the flight crew in an ineffective manner resulted in the aircraft undesired behavior and increased the level of stress of the pilots.
2- The aircraft being out of trim for most of the flight directly increased the workload on the pilot and made his control of the aircraft more demanding.
3- The prevailing weather conditions at night most probably resulted in spatial disorientation to the flight crew and lead to loss of situational awareness.
4- The relative inexperience of the Flight Crew on type combined with their unfamiliarity with the airport contributed, most likely, to increase the Flight Crew workload and stress.
5- The consecutive flying (188 hours in 51 days) on a new type with the absolute minimum rest could have likely resulted in a chronic fatigue affecting the captain's performance.
6- The heavy meal discussed by the crew prior to take-off has affected their quality of sleep prior to that flight.
7- The aircraft 11 bank angle aural warnings, 2 stalls and final spiral dive contributed in the increase of the crew workload and stress level.
8- Symptoms similar to those of a subtle incapacitation have been identified and could have resulted from and/or explain most of the causes mentioned above. However, there is no factual evidence to confirm without any doubt such a cause.
9- The F/O reluctance to intervene did not help in confirming a case of captain's subtle incapacitation and/or to take over control of the aircraft as stipulated in the operator's SOP.
Final Report:

Crash of a Boeing 707-327C in Beirut: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jul 23, 1979
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
OD-AFX
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Beirut - Beirut
MSN:
19107/507
YOM:
1966
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The crew departed Beirut International Airport on a local training mission consisting of the final check of a copilot to be promoted as captain. Following two successful touch-and-go manoeuvres, the crew initiated an approach when the airplane banked left and right then adopted an excessive nose-up attitude. Due to a high angle of attack and a low speed, the airplane lost height and the right wing struck the runway surface. Out of control, the aircraft crashed and was totally destroyed. All six crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the pilot-in-command (pilot under supervision) failed to react properly to an engine power reduction on final approach. Lack of crew coordination was also reported.

Crash of an Antonov AN-12BP in Beirut: 9 killed

Date & Time: May 13, 1977 at 0845 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
SP-LZA
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Warsaw - Varna - Beirut
MSN:
6 3 443 07
YOM:
1966
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The aircraft was completing a cargo flight from Warsaw to Beirut with an intermediate stop in Varna, carrying a crew of nine and a load of frozen meat. While approaching Beirut at an altitude of 2,100 feet, the four engine airplane struck power cables and crashed on rocky terraces located 8 km from runway 21 threshold. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all nine occupants were killed. It was reported that ATC transmitted several instructions to the crew that failed to respond, maybe due to language issues.

Ground explosion of a Boeing 720-047B in Beirut: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jun 27, 1976
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
OD-AGE
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Amman - Beirut
MSN:
18963/433
YOM:
1965
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
After all passengers disembarked at Beirut International Airport following a schedule service from Amman, the airplane was apparently struck by a mortar shell and exploded. A crew member was killed while two others were injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Damaged beyond repair by a mortar shell.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154A off Beirut: 60 killed

Date & Time: Sep 30, 1975 at 0240 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HA-LCI
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Budapest - Beirut
MSN:
74A053
YOM:
1974
Flight number:
MA240
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
50
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
60
Aircraft flight hours:
1186
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Budapest, the crew was cleared to descend to an altitude of 6,000 feet. By night, the airplane went out of control and crashed in unclear circumstances into the Mediterranean Sea about 10 km off Beirut. Debris were found floating on water and none of the 60 occupants survived. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were considered as good.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. At the time of the accident, the ILS system was out of service.

Crash of a Boeing 720-060B in Beirut

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1968 at 1833 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
ET-AAG
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Lagos - Kano - Beirut
MSN:
18454/319
YOM:
1962
Flight number:
ME272
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
39
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Aircraft flight hours:
15780
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Lagos via Kano, the crew started the approach to Beirut in poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls, turbulences and wind gusting to 45 knots. On short final, the airplane was unstable and landed nose gear first. On impact, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane slid for several yards before coming to rest in flames. All 49 occupants were rescued, 10 of them were injured. The aircraft was partially consumed by fire.

Crash of a Vickers 732 Viscount in Beirut

Date & Time: Feb 23, 1964 at 1920 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
SU-AKX
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Cairo – Beirut
MSN:
76
YOM:
1955
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
48
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
5
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Cairo, the crew started the approach to Beirut Airport in heavy rain falls and strong cross winds. On short final, during the last segment, the airplane was suddenly caught by a downdraft, lost height and struck the runway surface. It bounced and climbed to a height of 30 feet before descending and striking the runway again. Upon impact, the right main gear was sheared off, causing the propellers of both engines number three and four to struck the ground as well. Out of control, the airplane veered off runway and came to rest. While all 53 occupants were evacuated safely, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Failure of the pilot-in-command to take action: firstly to counteract the effect of a downdraft on final approach and, secondly, to react correctly to a bounce to a height of approximately thirty feet.

Crash of a Douglas DC-4 in Beyrouth: 24 killed

Date & Time: Nov 21, 1959
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
YA-BAG
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
London – Frankfurt – Beirut – Tehran – Kandahar – Kabul
MSN:
18367
YOM:
1944
Flight number:
FG202
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
22
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
24
Circumstances:
The aircraft was performing a flight from London to Kabul with several intermediate stops. The stopover at Beirut was longer than expected because few technical issues were noted after the airplane landed from Frankfurt. The departure from Beirut was postponed for 20 hours. Two minutes after departure from runway 18, while climbing, the airplane struck the slope of Mt Aramoun located about 5 km south of the airfield and burst into flames. Three passengers were seriously injured while all 24 other occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The accident was attributed to a combination of:
- A navigational error in that the pilot did not right turn out as early as he should have, either because he forgot or because he was distracted by some unusual occurrence,
- A fire indication (or possibly a fire) in the number one engine which induced the pilot to start fire emergency action with a resulting reduction in the rate of turn and the rate of climb.

Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando of Beirut: 27 killed

Date & Time: Oct 3, 1957 at 0155 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
OD-ACK
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Beirut – Kuwait City
MSN:
30249
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
23
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
27
Circumstances:
Few minutes after takeoff from Beirut Airport, the crew informed ATC about a fire on board and elected to return. More than thirty minutes later, while at altitude of 2,000 meters, the aircraft lost height and crashed into the sea some 18 km off Beirut. Some debris were found in the morning and all 27 occupants were killed. The airplane was also carrying a load of gold.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-10-DK in Beirut

Date & Time: Jan 24, 1954 at 0856 LT
Operator:
Registration:
F-BEFS
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Paris – Brindisi – Nicosia – Basra – Hanoi
MSN:
12416
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The aircraft, belonging to the Compagnie Autrex-Lopez-Loreta-Lebreton, was on a delivery flight from Paris to Hanoi. It departed from Paris on 22 January 1954 at 0650Z and arrived at Brindisi the same day at 1305Z. The following day the aircraft left Brindisi at 0720Z and landed at Nicosia at 1330Z. From Nicosia the aircraft intended to fly to Basra, but a failure in the HF radio equipment caused a change in the schedule, and it was decided to fly to Beirut where specialists and the spare parts necessary for the repair were available. On final approach by night, the aircraft was too low when, at a speed of 105 knots, it struck a mound of earth located 85 feet short of runway 36, damaging the right mains gear. The aircraft subsequently landed on the runway when the undercarriage collapsed. There were no injuries but the airplane was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
The accident was attributed to a pilot error due to lack of knowledge of the terrain. The existence of the mound was only an aggravating circumstance. The failure of the right landing gear may be explained by the excessive landing weight of the aircraft. The main cause of the accident was probably an unduly short landing which, in view of the length of the runway and the perfect condition of the aircraft, was unwarranted and must, therefore, be ascribed mainly to error on the part of the pilot, due largely to his lack of familiarity with the terrain. The pilot had never landed at the Beirut International Airport. The faulty altimeter setting was possibly an additional reason for the defective approach. Also, restricted visibility prevented the pilot from seeing the mound and taking appropriate action to avoid a crash. The presence of the mound at 26.60 meters from the runway entrance was a contributing factor. Since this mound was 78 cm high, the variation in level was 3%.
Final Report: