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 ...

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 {{aviation-accident-stub