Narrative:
Nigeria Airways flight WT 104 originated at Lagos (LOS). It departed at 17:17 hours UTC and was expected to land at Port Harcourt (PHC) at 17:56. En route at FL290 the crew contacted Port Harcourt ATC and received the 1700z weather. Visibility was given as 3000 metres, wind from 200 degrees at 13 knots and slight rain. About 17:40 the crew received a special weather report, noting an improved visibility of 6 km. The controller cleared the flight to sector altitude (2000ft) and field-in-sight was announced by the captain. On long final, the descent was visual and manual. The aircraft crossed the threshold at about 50ft high. The right main gear touched down first and rolled for about 180 metres before the left gear touched down about 2.4 metres to the runway's left edge. The nose gear touched down at about 4.9 metres to the edge. The aircraft continued off the left side of the runway. The left main gear first ran into the ditch alongside the runway and fractured the strut. The nose gear also broke off.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The probable cause of the accident was the decision of the Commander to continue an unstabilized approach profile to a touchdown instead of initiating a missed approach at 100ft or more from the ground.
The first contributory factor was the touchdown point which was displaced 82ft left of the centre-line and 2 degrees left of the runway direction.
The second contributory factor was the open trench close to the runway shoulder which immediately trapped the left main landing gear in a bid to correct to the runway heading with right rudder."
Runway excursion
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Tuesday 8 September 1987 |
| Time: | 18:56 |
| Type: |  Airbus A310-222 |
| Operator: | Nigeria Airways |
| Registration: | 5N-AUG |
| MSN: | 329 |
| First flight: | 1984-05-02 (3 years 4 months) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5408 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4E1 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 10 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 99 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 109 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Aircraft fate: | Repaired |
| Location: | Port Harcourt Airport (PHC) ( Nigeria)
|
| Phase: | Landing (LDG) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS/DNMM), Nigeria |
| Port Harcourt Airport (PHC/DNPO), Nigeria | |
| Flightnumber: | 104 |
Nigeria Airways flight WT 104 originated at Lagos (LOS). It departed at 17:17 hours UTC and was expected to land at Port Harcourt (PHC) at 17:56. En route at FL290 the crew contacted Port Harcourt ATC and received the 1700z weather. Visibility was given as 3000 metres, wind from 200 degrees at 13 knots and slight rain. About 17:40 the crew received a special weather report, noting an improved visibility of 6 km. The controller cleared the flight to sector altitude (2000ft) and field-in-sight was announced by the captain. On long final, the descent was visual and manual. The aircraft crossed the threshold at about 50ft high. The right main gear touched down first and rolled for about 180 metres before the left gear touched down about 2.4 metres to the runway's left edge. The nose gear touched down at about 4.9 metres to the edge. The aircraft continued off the left side of the runway. The left main gear first ran into the ditch alongside the runway and fractured the strut. The nose gear also broke off.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The probable cause of the accident was the decision of the Commander to continue an unstabilized approach profile to a touchdown instead of initiating a missed approach at 100ft or more from the ground.
The first contributory factor was the touchdown point which was displaced 82ft left of the centre-line and 2 degrees left of the runway direction.
The second contributory factor was the open trench close to the runway shoulder which immediately trapped the left main landing gear in a bid to correct to the runway heading with right rudder."
Accident investigation:
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Classification:
Landing after unstabilized approachRunway excursion
Follow-up / safety actions
AIB Nigeria issued 7 Safety Recommendations
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Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport to Port Harcourt Airport as the crow flies is 435 km (272 miles).
Distance from Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport to Port Harcourt Airport as the crow flies is 435 km (272 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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