Summary Fire (during taxi) Crew 7 Injuries (non-fatal) Unknown Number of deaths 2 Survivor 114 | Passengers 109 Fatalities 2 Date 30 August 1984 Operator Cameroon Airlines Passenger count 109 | |
Site Douala Airport, Cameroon Location Douala International Airport Similar Pacific Western Airlines Fl, 1984 TAM – Transport, Aeroservicios Ecuatorianos Flight 767, Vieques Air Link Flight 901A, Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 | ||
Cameroon Airlines Flight 786 was a Boeing 737-2H7C, registration TJ-CBD, operating as a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Douala Airport, Cameroon (ICAO: FKKD), to Garoua via Yaoundé. On 30 August 1984, as the aircraft was taxiing out for takeoff with 109 passengers and a crew of 7 on board, its number two engine suffered an uncontained compressor failure, which started a fire. All occupants were able to evacuate the aircraft, but two passengers died due to fire outside the cabin. The aircraft burned to the ground and was declared a total loss.
Contents
Accident sequence
As the aircraft was taxiing out in preparation for takeoff, a high-pressure compressor disk in the number two (right side) Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15 engine failed and disintegrated, with fragments damaging the right wing and perforating the fuel tank. The fuel began leaking from the ruptured tank onto the ground below the aircraft, and a fire was ignited. All occupants were able to evacuate the aircraft, but two passengers died due to the fire outside. The plane was completely destroyed.
Aftermath
According to Cameroon Airline's Chief Pilot (ret.) Jean Louis Angounou, interviewed in May 2009 on Le Jour Quotidien, the exact cause of the accident has never been determined because "in Cameroon, some inquiries begin but never come to an end."