Sudan Airways Flight 2241 was a scheduled cargo flight from

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital o ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

operated by a Boeing 707-330C which crashed on 21 October 2009.

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft involved was

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

707-330C ST-AKW. The aircraft was s/n 20112, line number 788. The aircraft first flew on 1 May 1968 and was delivered to

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

on 17 February 1969 where it was registered D-ABUJ. From 23 March 1977, it was leased to

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vult ...

until it was sold to the

on 5 May 1981. The aircraft was re-registered A6-DPA. On 26 May 1986, the aircraft was sold to the

Sudanese Government Currently, the politics of Sudan takes place in the framework of a federal provisional government. Previously, a ''president'' was head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces in a ''de jure'' multi-par ...

and re-registered ST-AKW. On 26 October 1986, it was sold to

Nile Safaris Aviation The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...

, 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. The captain, age 61, had previously worked for Sudan Airways and had 19,943 flight hours, but his experience on the Boeing 707 was not stated. The first officer, age 34, had 6,649 flight hours, including 5,011 hours on the Boeing 707. The flight engineer, age 53, had 7,324 flight hours, all of which were on the Boeing 707.

Accident

At 15:30

local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...

(11:30 UTC) on 21 October 2009, a Boeing 707-320 of Azza Transport crashed 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 on board.

Investigation

Sheik Khalid Al-Qasimi stated that the

General Civil Aviation Authority The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was established in 1996 by Federal Cabinet Decree (Law 4) to regulate Civil Aviation and provide designated aviation services with emphasis on safety and security and to ...

(GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates launched an investigation into the crash. It is reported that one area of inquiry is the engines. The

Cockpit Voice Recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...

and

Flight Data Recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...

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. An engine cowling fell away from the No. 4 engine shortly after take off. The final report stated the cause of the accident was the aircraft exceeding the maximum bank angle. This caused a stall and loss of control that was not recoverable. The crew were responding to a perceived power loss of engine #4, although their response was inappropriate. The #4 engines core cowls departed from the engine and this led to the separation of the Engine Pressure Ratio flex line.

Consequences

Azza Transport was banned from operating in the United Arab Emirates while the investigation into the accident took place.

References

External links

Interim ReportArchive

Video of the aftermathPhoto history of ST-AKW from Airliners.net
{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 2009 Aviation accidents and incidents in 2009 2009 in the United Arab Emirates Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 707 Aviation accidents and incidents in the United Arab Emirates October 2009 events in Asia 2009 disasters in the United Arab Emirates