Remembering the crash of Royal Jordanian 707

On the 22nd of January 1973, a Royal Jordanian Boeing 707 travelling from Jeddah International Airport (JED/OEJD), Saudi Arabia to Lagos/Ikeja International Airport (LOS/DNMM), Nigeria crashed while attempting to land at Kano International Airport (KAN/DNKN). The aircraft had been chartered by Nigeria Airways to fly pilgrims back from Jeddah to Lagos. But unfortunately, bad weather at Lagos forced the crew to divert to Kano.

Amid strong winds, on the aircraft's final approach, the pilot-in-command was met with mist during the last phase. Subsequently, control was lost, and the plane nosed down and hit the runway surface with its nose gear first. The nose gear then collapsed, and both main gears punctured the fuel tanks. The 707 then lost both left engines before making an opposite turn and going up in flames. 

As the fire took hold, and after a prolonged pause, some of the passengers and crew evacuated. 

Sadly 176 passengers and crew perished in the crash. There were 26 survivors.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines
Code: RJ/RJA
Aircraft: Boeing 707-3D3C
Registration: JY-ADO
Serial Number: 20494
Engines: 4 Pratt & Whitney JT3D

First Flew: 14/01/1971

Age 2 Yrs