Nigeria Airways Charter Flight Crash at Kano-Mallam Aminu Kano Airport (JY-ADO)

Incident Overview and Rerouting Details The aircraft was operating a charter flight from Jeddah to Lagos on behalf of Nigeria Airways, transporting Nigerian pilgrims returning home. During the flight, the crew received information regarding adverse weather conditions in Lagos. As a result, the flight was rerouted to Kano-Mallam Aminu Kano Airport. ## Approach and Impact Sequence While on final approach, the pilot-in-command encountered mist during the final segment of the approach. At this point, control of the aircraft was lost. The airplane subsequently nosed down and made initial contact with the runway surface using its nose gear. Upon impact, the nose gear collapsed, and both main landing gears then touched the ground, puncturing the fuel tanks. ## Post-Crash Events and Casualties Following the initial impact, the aircraft skidded out of control along the runway. During this sequence, it lost both left engines and executed a 180-degree turn before coming to rest in flames. The post-crash fire completely destroyed the aircraft. Rescue efforts saved three crew members and 23 passengers, while 176 other occupants were killed. At the time of the incident, this was recorded as the worst plane crash in history. ## Official Findings The exact cause of the accident remains unclear according to official findings. However, it is believed that control was lost on short final due to wake turbulence, causing the aircraft to adopt a nose-down attitude before crashing onto the runway.