Incident Overview
On 19 August 1980, Saudia Flight 163, a scheduled passenger flight operated by Saudia, departed from Quaid-e-Azam Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. The flight was destined for Kandara Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a stop at then-Riyadh International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Shortly after takeoff, a fire broke out aboard the aircraft, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar.
Emergency Landing
Despite the fire, the flight crew successfully executed an emergency landing at Riyadh International Airport. The aircraft touched down without incident, and the fire did not immediately prevent a safe landing.
Evacuation Failure
After the aircraft came to a stop on the runway, the flight crew did not perform an emergency evacuation of the airplane. The lack of evacuation procedures resulted in all 287 passengers and 14 crew members on board succumbing to smoke inhalation. No one survived the incident.
Aftermath
The accident highlighted critical shortcomings in emergency response procedures aboard the aircraft. The investigation determined that the fire originated in the cabin, but the exact ignition source was not specified in the official report. The aircraft itself was destroyed by the fire and subsequent smoke damage.
Probable Cause
The probable cause was the flight crew's failure to perform an emergency evacuation after the aircraft landed successfully, leading to the deaths of all occupants from smoke inhalation.