46 Years ago today: On 20 November 1974 a Lufthansa Boeing 747 crashed on takeoff from Nairobi, Kenya, killing 59 out of 157 occupants.
| Date: | Wednesday 20 November 1974 |
| Time: | 07:54 |
| Type: | Boeing 747-130 |
| Operator: | Lufthansa |
| Registration: | D-ABYB |
| C/n / msn: | 19747/29 |
| First flight: | 1970-03-30 (4 years 8 months) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 16781 |
| Engines: | 4 Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 17 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 55 / Occupants: 140 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 59 / Occupants: 157 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Nairobi International Airport (NBO) ( |
| Phase: | Takeoff (TOF) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Nairobi International Airport (NBO/HKNA), Kenya |
| Destination airport: | Johannesburg International Airport (JNB/FAJS), South Africa |
| Flightnumber: | LH540 |
Narrative:
Boeing 747 D-ABYB was taking off for the last leg of the Frankfurt (FRA) – Nairobi (NBO) – Johannesburg (JNB) flight when the crew felt vibration or buffeting following lift off. The captain, suspecting wheel imbalance, raised the gear. A lack of acceleration forced the crew to lower the nose in order to maintain airspeed. The Boeing continued to descend however and contacted the ground 1120 m past the end of runway 24 and struck an elevated road 114 m further on. The aircraft broke up and caught fire before coming to rest 454 m past the initial point of impact.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: “The accident was caused by the crew initiating a take-off with the leading edge flaps retracted because the pneumatic system which operates them had not been switched on. This resulted in the aircraft becoming airborne in a partially stalled condition which the pilots did not identify in the short time available to them for recovery. Major contributory factors were the lack of warning of a critical condition of leading edge flap position and the failure of the crew to complete satisfactorily their checklist items.”
