Aviation Accident: Left Engine Failure and Crash After Takeoff (6V-AEO)

Incident Overview and Casualties The flight was delayed because of overbooking, which created tension among passengers and crew. After a normal takeoff roll, the pilot initiated rotation. Approximately 30 seconds later, while climbing to about 100 feet, the left engine failed. The aircraft stalled and crashed less than 100 meters beyond the runway end, catching fire. The airframe broke in two; most survivors were located in the rear cabin, while the front section disintegrated on impact. Twenty-nine people survived, and 23 others, including all three crew members, were killed. ## Investigation and Findings The Senegalese government did not publish an official accident report, so the cause was determined from expert reports ordered by a French investigating magistrate and the observed position of the locking pin on the left supply valve. Experts concluded that the left engine stopped because the fuel supply valve closed. Poor fuel quality was also cited, prompting Air Senegal to ask a Shell-Senegal chemical engineer to test the fuel and refueling operations. The engineer agreed with the experts’ conclusions. ## Operational Tests and Fuel Analysis Operational tests were conducted in France on a similar aircraft, and fuel analyses were performed by the Accident Investigation Bureau. Additional expertise came from the United Kingdom, the aircraft manufacturer’s country, including a test by British Aerospace on the same aircraft. Analyses of the refueling drums showed no water in the drums, but water was present in the refueling pump. The pump had been disassembled and its filters removed before the aircraft tanks were filled. The small amount of water that could have been in the tanks would not have made the fuel unfit for use. ## Court Judgment and Sentencing The court considered itself sufficiently informed by the expertises and refused a further investigation requested by civil parties 12 years after the incident. The magistrates stated that the determining cause was the closure of the left fuel isolation valve. Investigations identified that a ground mechanic had performed a technical intervention under the left wing near the engine before departure, but the exact nature of that intervention could not be established. The court also recognized indirect factors, including anomalies in fuel storage and distribution, stress from overbooking, and the captain’s impatience, which led him to skip certain checks. On May 14, 2009, Senegalese mechanic Moustapha Diagne was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment, with 15 months suspended. The firm sentence matched the pre-trial detention he had already served after extradition.