Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604

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Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604
Boeing 737-2T4-Adv, Ethiopian Airlines AN0457036.jpg

A similar Boeing 737-200 operated by Ethiopian Airlines
Accident summary
Accident type Emergency landing after engine failure due to bird strike
place 10 km southwest of Bahir Dar Airport , EthiopiaEthiopia People's Democratic RepublicEthiopia 
date September 15, 1988
Fatalities 35
Survivors 69
Aircraft
Aircraft type United StatesUnited States Boeing 737-260
operator Ethiopia People's Democratic RepublicEthiopia Ethiopian Airlines
Mark Ethiopia People's Democratic RepublicEthiopia ET-AJA
Departure airport Addis Ababa Airport , EthiopiaEthiopia People's Democratic RepublicEthiopia 
Stopover Bahir Dar Airport , EthiopiaEthiopia People's Democratic RepublicEthiopia 
Destination airport Asmara Airport , Ethiopia
Ethiopia People's Democratic RepublicEthiopia 
Passengers 98
crew 6th
Lists of aviation accidents

The Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604 (flight number ET604 ) was a domestic airliner of Ethiopian Airlines from Addis Ababa to Asmara . On 15 September 1988 occurred on that flight a serious air accident, when a Boeing 737-260 for a scheduled stop in Bahir Dar immediately after the start of the onward flight with a flock of Guinea pigeons collided. There was a double engine failure, the pilots had to make an emergency landing, whereupon 35 passengers died.

plane

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-260, which was one year old at the time of the accident. The machine was assembled at the Boeing plant in Renton , Washington State , and made its maiden flight on October 2, 1987, before being delivered to Ethiopian Airlines on December 29, 1987 . The aircraft had the factory number 23914, it was the 1456. Boeing 737 from ongoing production. The machine was certified with the aircraft registration ET-AJA . The twin- engined , narrow -body aircraft was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17A engines. By the time of the accident, the machine had had a cumulative operating performance of 1377 operating hours with 1870 take-offs and landings.

Flight history

The first flight segment from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar was flown without any special incidents. In addition to the 6 crew members, 98 passengers took the onward flight to Asmara. At 9:50 a.m., the engines started and the machine rolled from its parking position to the runway. The pilots announced that they had decided not to use any engine bleed air during take-off in order to gain more thrust.

the accident

The machine took off in a south-westerly direction and was at that time controlled by the first officer. The acceleration process was routine. After reaching the decision speed and shortly before reaching the take-off the pilot, like a swarm saw Guinea pigeons aufflatterte left of them. The captain took over at that time, the control of the first officer, and let the machine rotate . Immediately afterwards, the machine collided with part of the flock of pigeons at a speed of 146 knots (approx. 270 km / h). Loud popping noises could be heard. In the next moment the first officer retracted the landing gear on the instructions of the master.

The engines caught fire at a height of 100–200 feet above the ground (approx. 30–60 meters). The crew reported that the machine had suffered a massive loss of thrust. The captain then pressed the thrust levers fully, whereupon the engines responded and the machine was able to gain some height. This encouraged the captain to make a right turn, which he used to steer the aircraft away from Lake Tana and back to the airport. Within the first 32 seconds after the collision with the birds, the machine had gained 290 feet (approx. 88 meters) in height and thus flew at 6020 feet (approx. 1835 meters) above sea level. The speed of the machine had increased to 154 knots (approx. 285 km / h).

As the pilots reported, the engines continued to pump while the displays for the temperature of the engine exhaust gases rose to the end range. The displays for the engine pressure fluctuated in the range of 1.6. The captain then reduced the thrust in order to protect the engines. With the reduction in thrust, the pumping of the engines decreased. The pilots flew a 90-degree turn at the same altitude, the speed increased to 162 knots (approx. 300 km / h). They flew another right turn in order to bring the aircraft into the counter approach for a traffic pattern to runway 04 at Bahir Dar airport. The flight altitude had risen to 6410 feet (1954 meters) and the airspeed to 173 knots (approx. 320 km / h). The machine continued to climb to 7100 feet (about 2164 meters). In the next five seconds both engines suddenly lost all thrust.

With the flame stall in the engines, a return to Bahir Dar Airport, more than 10 kilometers away, became impossible. The pilots had to make an emergency landing. The first officer pointed to an open area slightly to the right of the Boeing's flight path. The captain steered towards this and made an emergency landing with the landing gear retracted. The machine broke apart and a fire broke out. The machine was evacuated. The six-man crew managed to save themselves, but 35 of the 98 passengers died.

Flight number

As is customary in civil aviation with some airlines, Ethiopian does not operate flights under flight numbers under which an aircraft accident has occurred with many victims, such as in the case of ET961 , ET409 and ET302 . Regardless of this, flights are still operated under flight number ET604 ; however, this is an intercontinental flight from Addis Ababa to Beijing .

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