The fatal seconds after takeoff: Kenya Airways Flight 507

Nature · Published 21 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: This investigation reconstructs the tragic final moments of a Boeing 737-800 that crashed just seconds after departing Cameroon. It examines how a series of pilot errors led to a total loss of control in a matter of moments.

On May 5, 2007, Kenya Airways Flight 507 was traveling from Abidjan to Nairobi with a stopover in Douala. Immediately following takeoff from Douala International Airport, the aircraft broke apart and crashed into a mangrove swamp roughly 5.4 kilometers south of the runway.

The Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority's investigation concluded that all 114 people on board perished because the pilots failed to identify or correct an excessive bank. The rapid loss of control occurred so quickly after departure that it left no room for recovery.

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