What happened
On January 30, 2000, at 21:09 UTC, a Kenya Airways Airbus A310-304, registration 5Y-BEN, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean approximately 1.5 nautical miles south of the Abidjan airport in Côte d'Ivoire. The aircraft was operating flight KQ 431, a scheduled passenger service from Abidjan to Nairobi via Lagos.
The flight had been diverted to Abidjan earlier that day due to poor weather conditions in Lagos. Following a six-hour layover, the aircraft commenced its takeoff roll. Approximately 33 seconds after liftoff, the aircraft entered a rapid descent and impacted the water. Of the 179 people on board, including 169 passengers and 10 crew members, 10 fatalities were recorded.
The investigation
The investigation was led by the Ivorian Commission of Inquiry, with technical assistance provided by the French BEA. Investigators recovered the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR), which were analyzed in Canada. The investigation examined the aircraft's technical condition, maintenance history, and the crew's performance.
Submarine sonar mapping and underwater observations were conducted to locate the wreckage. The inquiry also reviewed the crew's training, the aircraft's configuration at takeoff, and the management of cockpit alarms. The investigation specifically scrutinized the activation of the stall warning and the crew's response to the aircraft's sudden loss of altitude.
Findings
- The aircraft was configured for a "Flex 60" takeoff.
- The crew experienced a sudden and rapid loss of altitude shortly after takeoff.
- The investigation focused on the activation of the stall warning and the subsequent crew actions during the emergency.
- The crew's coordination and task distribution during the management of the stall alarm were analyzed as critical factors in the sequence of events.