Statuts:	Enquête Officielle
Date:	20 NOV 1974
Heure:	07:54
Type/Sous-type:	Boeing 747-130
Compagnie:	Lufthansa
Immatriculation:	D-ABYB
Numéro de série:	19747/29
Année de Fabrication:	1970-03-30 (4 years 8 months)
Heures de vol:	16781
Moteurs:	4 Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7
Equipage:	victimes: 4 / à bord: 17
Passagers:	victimes: 55 / à bord: 140
Total:	victimes: 59 / à bord: 157
Dégats de l'appareil:	Perte Totale
Conséquences:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Lieu de l'accident:	Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) (Kénya)
Phase de vol:	Au décollage (TOF)
Nature:	Transport de Passagers Intern.
Aéroport de départ:	Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO/HKNA), Kénya
Aéroport de destination:	Johannesburg International Airport (JNB/FAJS), Afrique du Sud
Numéro de vol:	540

Détails:
Boeing 747 D-ABYB was taking off for the last leg of the Frankfurt (FRA) - Nairobi (NBO) - Johannesburg (JNB) flight when the crew felt vibration or buffeting following lift off. The captain, suspecting wheel imbalance, raised the gear. A lack of acceleration forced the crew to lower the nose in order to maintain airspeed. The Boeing continued to descend however and contacted the ground 1120m past the end of runway 24 and struck an elevated road 114m further on. The aircraft broke up and caught fire before coming to rest 454m past the initial point of impact.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident was caused by the crew initiating a take-off with the leading edge flaps retracted because the pneumatic system which operates them had not been switched on. This resulted in the aircraft becoming airborne in a partially stalled condition which the pilots did not identify in the short time available to them for recovery. Major contributory factors were the lack of warning of a critical condition of leading edge flap position and the failure of the crew to complete satisfactorily their checklist items."

Sources:
» Flight International 28.08.1976 (481)
» ICAO Circular 132-AN/93 (181-194)