Incident
At approximately 2108 local time, an airplane departed Riyadh Airport en route to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Six minutes and 54 seconds after takeoff, while climbing to Flight Level 350, visual and aural warnings indicated smoke in the aft cargo compartment C-3. While climbing through Flight Level 220, a return to Riyadh was initiated. About two minutes later, smoke was noted in the aft of the cabin, and passengers were panicking. At 18:25:26, the no. 2 engine throttle became stuck. The flight landed at approximately 2136 local time and taxied clear of the runway, coming to a stop on an adjacent taxiway.
Fire and Destruction
While parked on the taxiway, the aircraft was destroyed by fire. All three hundred and one persons on board the flight were killed.
Survival Aspects
The accident was survivable. The first door was opened about 23 minutes after all engines had been shut down. The first rescue attempt was conducted at the L-1 door. A witness who participated in the first two efforts to open the doors stated that he was aboard fire truck No. 4 as it was positioned near the left rear portion of the aircraft. He observed thick white smoke flowing from the bottom rear fuselage; at that time, the aircraft engines were still running. A few seconds later, he observed smoke near the top of the fuselage, forward of the No. 2 engine inlet, followed almost immediately by flames in the same area. As the driver of No. 4 started applying agent via the monitor, the witness dismounted and moved toward exit L-1, passing outboard of No. 1 engine, which he thought was still running.
On approaching L-1, he observed the fire chief and other people attempting to reach the L-1 emergency handle via a ladder placed on top of fire truck No. 6. While fire personnel steadied the ladder, he climbed up and pulled the emergency handle. He was uncertain if the door moved. An additional effort was attempted while he held onto and rode the monitor; he pushed on the door to no avail. Most of the group then moved to R-2, where another ladder had been positioned by other firemen. A fireman climbed the ladder, operated the handle, and the door opened in emergency mode. The cabin was observed to be full of smoke; no life was observed, nor were any human sounds heard.
R-2 door was opened at 1905, 26 minutes after the aircraft came to a stop and 23 minutes after the shutdown of all engines. Shortly after (about 3 minutes) R-2 was opened, flames were seen progressing forward from the rear section of the cabin.
Probable Cause
The initiation of a fire in the C-3 cargo compartment. The source of ignition of the fire is undetermined. Factors contributing to the fatal results of this accident were:
- The failure of the captain to prepare the cabin crew for immediate evacuation upon landing and his failure in not making a maximum stop landing on the runway, with immediate evacuation,
- The failure of the captain to properly utilize his flight crew throughout the emergency,
- The failure of C/F/R headquarters management personnel to ensure that its personnel had adequate equipment and training to function as required during an emergency.