6 fatalities

Loss of Control During Training Flight at Cairo International Airport (SU-AXB)

Cairo-Intl, EgyptLanding (descent or approach)

On July 9, 1974, a Tupolev TU-154 (registration SU-AXB) operated by Egyptair was involved in an aviation accident near Cairo-Intl, Egypt during landing or approach. 6 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: Continual increase of pitching up attitude during overshoot which lead to the stalling of the aircraft at an insufficient height for recovery. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

Sourcesthe Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)Primary reportUpdated 2026-06-12Data APIEditorial standards
Aircraft registered SU-AXB
Aircraft registered SU-AXB. Photo: Clive R Martin / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

During a local training flight, a crew performed a low pass over runway 23 and lost control while climbing, causing the aircraft to crash near the runway end. All six crew members were killed.

Incident

The aircraft was on a local training flight at Cairo International Airport. After a training period of 3 hours and 14 minutes, the crew executed a low pass over runway 23 with the aircraft in a slight nose-up attitude. While initiating a climb, the pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane. The aircraft crashed in flames near the end of the runway and was destroyed. All six crew members on board were killed.

Investigation

The official investigation determined that the accident resulted from a continual increase in pitching-up attitude during the overshoot, which led to the aircraft stalling at an insufficient height for recovery.

Probable cause

Continual increase of pitching up attitude during overshoot which lead to the stalling of the aircraft at an insufficient height for recovery. Contributing were the inaccurate calculation of the CG position before takeoff and the possibility of movement of the ballast weight aft during flight.