Remembering Kenya Airways Flight 431

Kenya Airways Flight 431 was an international scheduled flight traveling from Abidjan-Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport (ABJ/DIAP) to Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS/DNMM) operated by Kenyan national airline Kenya Airways. On the 30th of January 2000, the Airbus A310-300 serving the flight crashed into the sea off the Ivory Coast, shortly after takeoff from Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Abidjan.  There were 179 people on board, of whom 169 were passengers. Only ten people survived.

The Commission of Inquiry concluded that the cause of the accident to flight KQ 431 was a collision with the sea that resulted from error. The pilot flying applying one part of the procedure, by pushing forward on the control column to stop the stick shaker, following the initiation of a stall warning on rotation, while the airplane was not in a true stall situation. 

In fact, the FCOM (Flight Crew Operating Manual) used by the airline states that whenever a stall warning is encountered at low altitude (stick shaker activation), it should be considered as an immediate threat to the maintenance of a safe flight path. It specifies that at the first sign of an imminent stall or at the time of a stick shaker activation, the following actions must be undertaken simultaneously: thrust levers in TOGA (Take-off/Go Around) position, reduction of pitch attitude, wings level, check that speed brakes are retracted. 

The investigation showed that the pilot flying reduced the pitch attitude but did not apply TOGA thrust on the engines. The investigation was unable to determine if the crew performed the other two actions: leveling the wings and checking that the speed brakes were retracted.

With 169 fatalities, the crash was the deadliest involving the Airbus A310 and the deadliest in Ivory Coast history. It was the first fatal crash for Kenya Airways as well as the deadliest.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Kenya Airways
Code: KQ/KQA
Aircraft: Airbus A310-304
Registration: 5Y-BEN
Serial Number: 426
Engines: 2 x GE CF6-80C2A2

First Flew: 3/10/1986

Age 13.3 Yrs