Passengers 76 Fatalities 87 Date 20 November 1969 Passenger count 76 | Crew 11 Survivors 0 Number of deaths 87 Survivor 0 | |
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Summary Probable CFIT due to pilot error Site 13 km (8.1 mls) N of Lagos/Ikeja International Airport (LOS) Destination Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS/DNMM) Similar Philippine Airlines Flight 158, 1969 Aswan Ilyushin Il, 1969 Newton Cessna 1, Prinair Flight 277, Olympic Airways Flight 954 | ||
On 20 November 1969, Nigeria Airways Flight 825, a Vickers VC-10 aircraft, crashed while on approach to Lagos International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria killing all 87 people on board.
Contents
Flight
Nigeria Airways Flight 825 was en route from London to Lagos with intermediate stops in Rome and Kano. With its undercarriage down and its flaps partially extended, the VC-10 struck trees 13 kilometres short of runway 19. The aircraft crashed into the ground, an area of teak forest and exploded.
All 76 passengers and 11 crew on board were killed. Flight 825 was the first ever fatal crash involving the Vickers VC-10.
Cause
Immediately after the crash three automatic weapons were found in the wreckage. To counter a rumour that a fight between a prisoner and two guards caused the crash, a ballistics expert was consulted. It was learned none of the weapons had been recently fired.
The cause of the crash could never be determined with certainty, the flight recorder was not working at the time of the crash, but that it was most probably due to the flight crew being unaware of the aircraft's actual altitude during the final approach and allowing the aircraft to come below safe height when not in visual contact with the ground. Fatigue may have also been a contributing factor.