Azza Transport Flight 2241
Encyclopedia
Azza Transport Flight 2241 was a scheduled cargo flight from Sharjah
, United Arab Emirates
, to Khartoum
, Sudan
, which crashed on 21 October 2009.
707-330C ST-AKW. The aircraft was c/n 20112, line number 788. The aircraft first flew on 1 May 1968 and was delivered to Lufthansa
on 17 February 1969 where it was registered D-ABUJ. From 23 March 1977, it was leased to Condor Flugdienst until it was sold to the United Arab Emirates
on 5 May 1981. The aircraft was re-registered A6-DPA. On 26 May 1986, the aircraft was sold to the Sudanese Government
and re-registered ST-AKW. On 26 October 1986, it was sold to Nile Safaris Aviation, serving until sold to Trans Arabian Air Transport on 28 May 1992. The final change of ownership was on 16 August 1994 when it was sold to Azza Transport.
(11:30 UTC
) on 21 October 2009, a Boeing 707-320 of Azza Transport crashed 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Sharjah International Airport. The flight was destined for Khartoum International Airport and had just taken off at the time of the accident. The aircraft was carrying a cargo of air conditioning units, car parts, computers and tools. It is reported that a piece of the aircraft fell off shortly after it became airborne. This was later identified as a part of a cowling from one of the engines. The aircraft was totally destroyed in the crash and subsequent fire which killed all six crew onboard.
(GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates has launched an investigation into the crash. It is reported that one area of inquiry is the engines. The Cockpit Voice Recorder
and Flight Data Recorder
were recovered and sent to the United Kingdom
for analysis. In February 2010, it was reported that both recorders were not functioning, and no data was recovered from them. In January 2011, the GCAA released an interim report. The most likely cause of the accident is the uncommanded deployment of a thrust reverser on #4 engine in flight.
Sharjah (city)
Sharjah is the third largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.Sharjah is the seat of government of the emirate of Sharjah...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, to Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, which crashed on 21 October 2009.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was BoeingBoeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
707-330C ST-AKW. The aircraft was c/n 20112, line number 788. The aircraft first flew on 1 May 1968 and was delivered to Lufthansa
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
on 17 February 1969 where it was registered D-ABUJ. From 23 March 1977, it was leased to Condor Flugdienst until it was sold to the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
on 5 May 1981. The aircraft was re-registered A6-DPA. On 26 May 1986, the aircraft was sold to the Sudanese Government
Politics of Sudan
Officially, the politics of Sudan takes place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic consociationalist republic, where the President of Sudan is Head of State, Head of Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces in a multi-party system...
and re-registered ST-AKW. On 26 October 1986, it was sold to Nile Safaris Aviation, serving until sold to Trans Arabian Air Transport on 28 May 1992. The final change of ownership was on 16 August 1994 when it was sold to Azza Transport.
Accident
At 15:30 local timeUTC+4
UTC+04:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +04. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:Gulf Standard Time uses UTC+04.-As standard time :...
(11:30 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
) on 21 October 2009, a Boeing 707-320 of Azza Transport crashed 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Sharjah International Airport. The flight was destined for Khartoum International Airport and had just taken off at the time of the accident. The aircraft was carrying a cargo of air conditioning units, car parts, computers and tools. It is reported that a piece of the aircraft fell off shortly after it became airborne. This was later identified as a part of a cowling from one of the engines. The aircraft was totally destroyed in the crash and subsequent fire which killed all six crew onboard.
Investigation
Sheik Khalid Al-Qasimi stated that the General Civil Aviation AuthorityGeneral Civil Aviation Authority
The General Civil Aviation Authority is the civil aviation authority of the United Arab Emirates. The authority has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, while it has a regional office in Dubai.-External links:* *...
(GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates has launched an investigation into the crash. It is reported that one area of inquiry is the engines. The Cockpit Voice Recorder
Cockpit voice recorder
A cockpit voice recorder , often referred to as a "black box", is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents...
and Flight Data Recorder
Flight data recorder
A flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...
were recovered and sent to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for analysis. In February 2010, it was reported that both recorders were not functioning, and no data was recovered from them. In January 2011, the GCAA released an interim report. The most likely cause of the accident is the uncommanded deployment of a thrust reverser on #4 engine in flight.
Consequences
Azza Transport was banned from operating in the United Arab Emirates while the investigation into the accident took place.See also
- Lauda Air Flight 004Lauda Air Flight 004Lauda Air Flight 004 was an international passenger flight that crashed due to a thrust reverser deployment of the number 1 engine in flight.-History of the flight:...
, an accident caused by the uncommanded deployment of a thrust reverser in flight.