Date 15 September 1988 Crew 6 | Passengers 98 Fatalities 35 | |
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Summary Belly landing after bird strike Site Bahir Dar Airport, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia | ||
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604 was a scheduled Addis Ababa–Bahir Dar–Asmara flight, that caught fire during a belly landing at Bahir Dar Airport, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, on 15 September 1988.
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Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-260, registration ET-AJA, delivered new to Ethiopian Airlines. At the time of the accident the aircraft was less than a year old.
Accident description
On 15 September 1988 (1988-09-15), the aircraft was due operate the second leg of a domestic scheduled Addis Ababa–Bahir Dar–Asmara passenger service with 104 occupants on board, of whom 98 were passengers. Both engines of the aircraft ingested a flock of speckled pigeons as it took off from Bahir Dar Airport, and subsequently overheated. One of the engines immediately lost thrust, while the other did so on the emergency return to the departure airport. During a gear-up landing, the aircraft caught fire.
There is some discrepancy over the death toll depending upon the source, as this number is claimed to be 35, or 31. The discrepancy likely arose because four bodies could not be recovered. All of the fatalities were among the passengers.