What happened
During a departure from runway 25 at Kano Airport bound for Tripoli, a four-engine aircraft encountered deteriorating weather conditions characterized by moderate rainfall. Shortly after ascending to an altitude of approximately 250 feet, the aircraft experienced a rapid loss of altitude. Despite the pilot-in-command applying full engine power in an attempt to arrest the descent, the plane continued to lose height.
The descent resulted in the aircraft impacting a tree and crashing roughly 1.5 miles from the end of the departure runway. The accident resulted in 32 fatalities, consisting of three crew members and 29 passengers. At the time of the accident, meteorological reports indicated visibility of 1,500 yards, winds from 270 degrees at 20 knots, and a cloud base of 2,500 feet.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the primary factor in the accident was the aircraft encountering an unexpected thunderstorm cell during its initial climb. This weather system caused a sudden change in wind direction, heavy precipitation, and likely downdraught conditions that led to the critical loss of airspeed and altitude.