Saudia Flight 162 was a scheduled flight from

Dhahran International Airport Dhahran ( ar, الظهران, ''Al-Dhahran'') is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 240,742 as of 2021, it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby citi ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

that suffered a high-altitude

uncontrolled decompression Uncontrolled decompression is an unplanned drop in the pressure of a sealed system, such as an aircraft cabin or hyperbaric chamber, and typically results from human error, material fatigue, engineering failure, or impact, causing a pressure vesse ...

, above international waters off

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, killing 2 children who were among the 272 passengers.

Background

The accident aircraft was a Lockheed L-1011-200 TriStar, registration HZ-AHJ (c/n 1161).

Accident

After takeoff as the aircraft reached an altitude of 29,000 feet one of its main wheel tires failed, exploding and creating a hole in the fuselage and cabin floor. An emergency descent was initiated, followed by a successful landing at Qatar's

Doha International Airport Doha International Airport ( ar, مطار الدوحة الدولي) is an airport in Doha, Qatar. It was Qatar's commercial international airport until Hamad International Airport opened on 27 May 2014. While all scheduled commercial traffic ...

. Two young passengers were killed when they were ejected through the hole in the cabin floor.

Probable cause

The probable cause of the incident was determined to be a fatigue failure of a flange on the hub of one of the main landing gear wheels. This failure had resulted in one of the tires blowing out. The debris from this explosion had penetrated the cabin of the airplane, causing the explosive decompression. B.F. Goodrich Co. and Lockheed were found to share responsibility for their failure to assess safety hazards associated with this particular wheel design. In addition, the United States

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

(FAA) was found to have had inadequate oversight of the manufacturers.

Aftermath

The aircraft was repaired and returned to service with Saudia. It was retired in 1999 and later scrapped.

Notes

References

External links

Aviation Safety Network accident synopsis
{{coord missing, Qatar 162 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1980 Accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed L-1011 Aviation accidents and incidents in Qatar Airliner accidents and incidents involving in-flight depressurization 1980 in Qatar 1980 in Saudi Arabia December 1980 events in Asia