Somali Airlines Flight 40 was a scheduled domestic
Somali Airlines
Somali Airlines was the flag carrier of Somalia. Established in 1964, it offered flights to both domestic and international destinations. It operated Boeing 720Bs, Boeing 707-300s and Airbus A310-300s on a network to the Middle East and Europe ...
flight on 20 July 1981 from
Mogadishu
Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...
to
Hargeisa
Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...
in Somalia. The aircraft crashed a few minutes after takeoff, and all 44 passengers and six crew on board were killed.
Flight
On 20 July 1981, Somali Airlines Flight 40, operated by a
Fokker F27 Friendship
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Eur ...
, took off from Mogadishu's
Mogadishu International Airport en route to
Hargeisa International Airport
Egal International Airport (), ( so, Madaarka Caalamiga a ee Cigaal ar, مطار هرجيسا إيغال الدولية) is an airport in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, named after Somaliland's second president Muhammad Haji Ibrahim E ...
in Hargeisa. It later returned to the Mogadishu airport for some repairs, before departing a second time. A few minutes after Flight 40 took off again, the aircraft entered an area of heavy rainfall. The flight crew subsequently lost control and crashed near the town of
Balad. All 50 people on board were killed,
the most fatalities in a single aircraft crash within Somali airspace.
Investigation
The crash investigation determined that the aircraft had entered a spiral dive after encountering strong vertical gusts. Loads during the dive increased to approximately 5.76
g, exceeding the design stress limits of the
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...
type and causing its right wing to separate.
The flight crew were believed to have erred in taking off during known thunderstorm conditions.
References
Accidents and incidents involving the Fokker F27
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1981
Aviation accidents and incidents in Somalia
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather
1981 in Somalia
1981 meteorology
July 1981 events in Africa
1981 disasters in Somalia
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