Littoral

During the night of 4th May 2007, the B737-800, registration 5Y-KYA, operating as flight KQ507 from Abidjan international Airport, Ivory Coast, to the Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi (Kenya), made a scheduled stop-over at the Douala international Airport. The weather was stormy. The aircraft took off and climbed into the dark night. There were no external visual references, yet no instrument scanning was done by the crew. At 1000 feet climbing, the pilot flying released the flight controls for 55 seconds without having engaged the autopilot. The bank angle of the airplane increased continuously by itself very slowly up to 34° right and the captain appeared unaware of the airplane’s changing attitude. Just before the "Bank Angle" warning sounds, the captain grabbed the controls, appeared confused about the attitude of the airplane, and made corrections in an erratic manner increasing the bank angle to 50° right. At about 50° bank angle, the autopilot was engaged and the inclination tended to stabilize; then movements of the flight controls by the pilot resumed and the bank angle increased towards 70° right. A prolonged right rudder input brought the bank angle to beyond 90°. The aircraft descended in a spiral dive until it crashed at approximately 0008LT (May 5) in a mangrove swamp located 5,5 km southeast of Douala Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 114 occupants were killed.

During the takeoff roll, the left engine failed. Control was lost and the aircraft veered off runway and came to rest. All four occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

During the takeoff roll on runway 23 at Douala Airport, at a speed of 110 knots, the crew noted a loud bang and decided to abort. The crew initiated an emergency braking procedure but the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, lost its undercarriage and both engines before coming to rest 130 metres further, bursting into flames. All 114 occupants were evacuated, among them 20 were slightly injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

While on a night approach to Douala Airport, at a distance of 3,5 NM, the crew was cleared to land on runway 30. At this time, the aircraft initiated a slight climb and about 15 seconds later, the copilot informed ATC about technical problems. Three seconds later, the aircraft rolled to the left, struck trees and crashed in a mangrove located about 1,700 metres south of runway 30, bursting into flames. Three passengers and two crew members (the copilot and a stewardess) were seriously injured while 71 other occupants were killed.

While taxiing at Douala Airport, an explosion occurred on the left hand side. The crew stopped the aircraft on the taxiway and started an emergency evacuation. 94 occupants were wounded while 20 others were uninjured. Unfortunately, two passengers died by asphyxia.

Crashed in unknown circumstances. There were no casualties.

After liftoff, the twin engine airplane stalled and crashed by the runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were killed.

Following an uneventful cargo flight from Paris-Orly Airport, the crew started the descent to Douala Airport in marginal weather conditions. On short final, the airplane encountered low level windshear. Control was lost and the aircraft banked left, causing the left wing to struck the runway surface. Upon impact, the left main gear was torn off as well as both engines n°1 and 2. The aircraft veered off runway to the left, made a 270° turn then came to rest. All three crew members escaped with minor injuries while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair, the left wing being partially torn off.

The crew was cleared to start an ILS semi-direct approach to Douala Airport when contact was lost. The wreckage was found three days later in a prairie located 80 km northeast of Douala. The aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances, killing all four crew members who were completing a cargo flight.