1956 Kano Airport BOAC Argonaut crash

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Airplane crash incident

1956 Kano Airport BOAC Argonaut crash
Accident
G-ALHS, sister aircraft to the one involved in the crash, in 1954
Date	24 June 1956
Summary	Crashed on take-off following encounter with microburst
Site	Kano Airport, Nigeria 12°02′49″N 8°31′05″E / 12.046891°N 8.51809°E / 12.046891; 8.51809
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Canadair C-4 Argonaut
Aircraft name	Argo
Operator	British Overseas Airways Corporation
Registration	G-ALHE
Flight origin	Kano Airport, Nigeria
Destination	Tripoli International Airport (Idris Airport), Libya
Passengers	38
Crew	7
Fatalities	32
Survivors	13

On 24 June 1956, a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) four-engined Canadair C-4 Argonaut airliner crashed into a tree on departure from Kano Airport in Nigeria, three crew and 29 passengers were killed.

Crash

At 17:21 the Argonaut departed Runway 25 at Kano Airport on the way to Tripoli in Libya. The flight was from Lagos to London and had made a scheduled stop at Kano. It was raining as the aircraft reached 250 feet (76 m) when the aircraft began to lose height. The pilot applied full power but the aircraft continued to descend until it hit a tree about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) from the end of the runway. Three of the seven crew members and 29 of the 38 passengers were killed in the crash, two crew and two passengers were seriously injured.

Investigation

A team from the British Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation and BOAC flew out from London on 25 June in a chartered Canadair Argonaut to help in the investigation. The Nigerian investigation team of four was led by the Director of Civil Aviation.

Inquiry report

The Board of Inquiry concluded "The accident was the result of a loss of height and airspeed caused by the aircraft encountering, at approximately 250ft after take-off, an unpredictable thunderstorm cell which gave rise to a sudden reversal of wind direction, heavy rain, and possible downdraft conditions. The formation of the cell could not have been predicted by the meteorological forecaster at Kano airport, nor was it visible to the pilot in command before taking off. In the circumstances, no blame can be attached to the pilot in command for taking off."

The report also recommended that the International Civil Aviation Organization urgently consider investigating the special hazards to aircraft inherent in taking off or landing in close proximity to thunderstorms.

References

Citations

^ World Accident Summary. Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom). 1974. p. 10/56. ISBN 0-903083-44-2.
^ "Air Crash in Nigeria Argonaut With 45 on Board, Many Casualties, Craft Bound For London". News. The Times. No. 53566. London. 25 June 1956. col A, p. 8.
^ "Death Roll Now 30 in Nigeria Air Disaster". News in Brief. The Times. No. 53567. London. 26 June 1956. col D, p. 10.
^ "Kano Crash Caused By Thunderstorm Sudden Reversal of Wind". News. The Times. No. 53598. London. 1 August 1956. col D, p. 7.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1956 (1956)
Feb 8 RAF multiple aircraft accidentFeb 18 Scottish Airlines Malta disasterFeb 20 Cairo DC-6 plane crashMar 10 US Air Force B-47 disappearanceApr 1 TWA Flight 400Apr 2 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2May 15 Convent CrashJun 20 Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253Jun 24 Kano Airport BOAC Argonaut crashJun 30 Grand Canyon mid-air collisionJul 9 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 304Jul 13 United States Air Force Flight 441/13Jul 24 RAF Lakenheath B-47 crashSep 22 Eindhoven Lockheed T-33 crashOct 1 London Heathrow Avro Vulcan crashOct 10 Atlantic R6D-1 disappearanceOct 16 Pan Am Flight 6Nov 7 Braathens SAFE Flight 253Nov 24 ČSA Flight 548Nov 24 Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451Nov 27 Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253Dec 9 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810Dec 9 Anadyr Li-2 crash
1955 ◄ ► 1957

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1956 (1956)

Feb 8 RAF multiple aircraft accidentFeb 18 Scottish Airlines Malta disasterFeb 20 Cairo DC-6 plane crashMar 10 US Air Force B-47 disappearanceApr 1 TWA Flight 400Apr 2 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2May 15 Convent CrashJun 20 Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253Jun 24 Kano Airport BOAC Argonaut crashJun 30 Grand Canyon mid-air collisionJul 9 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 304Jul 13 United States Air Force Flight 441/13Jul 24 RAF Lakenheath B-47 crashSep 22 Eindhoven Lockheed T-33 crashOct 1 London Heathrow Avro Vulcan crashOct 10 Atlantic R6D-1 disappearanceOct 16 Pan Am Flight 6Nov 7 Braathens SAFE Flight 253Nov 24 ČSA Flight 548Nov 24 Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451Nov 27 Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253Dec 9 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810Dec 9 Anadyr Li-2 crash

1955 ◄ ► 1957

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Nigeria
Before 1990	Kano Airport BOAC Argonaut crash (June 1956) Nigeria Airways Flight 825 (November 1969) Kano Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 crash (January 1973)
1990s	Nigerian Air Force C-130 crash (September 1992) Nigeria Airways Flight 9805 (December 1994) Lagos Harka Air Services Tu-134 crash (June 1995) Nigeria Airways Flight 357 (November 1995) ADC Airlines Flight 086 (November 1996)
2000s	EAS Airlines Flight 4226 (May 2002) Bellview Airlines Flight 210 (October 2005) Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 (December 2005) ADC Airlines Flight 053 (October 2006)
2010s	Dana Air Flight 0992 (June 2012) Associated Aviation Flight 361 (October 2013)

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