What happened
On a flight returning to Bamako from Kano, an aircraft operated by a Palestinian crew was performing its final rotation of the day. The flight was operating without cargo, carrying only three crew members. During the evening approach, the pilot experienced a loss of orientation and was unable to communicate his current position to air traffic control. The crew failed to establish contact with the Niamey or Ouagadougou ACC units during the flight.
In an attempt to rectify the situation, the captain initiated an emergency landing procedure at Dori. During this maneuver, the right wing of the aircraft made contact with a tree, resulting in the wing being severed from the fuselage. Following this impact, the aircraft became uncontrollable and struck an open field a short distance from Dori Airport. The accident resulted in three fatalities and two serious injuries. While two crew members initially survived the impact, they both succumbed to their injuries the following day.
Findings
- The crew experienced a loss of navigational orientation during the dusk flight.
- Failure to maintain communication with regional air traffic control centers prevented coordination with Niamey and Ouagadougou.
- Structural failure of the right wing occurred due to impact with vegetation during an attempted emergency landing.