A fatal decision to ignore underinflated tyres led to the destruction of Flight 2120
In short: On July 11, 1991, a Douglas DC-8 carrying 261 people caught fire immediately after takeoff from Jeddah. The disaster, which killed everyone on board, was not a mechanical mystery but the result of a project manager prioritizing schedule over safety by forcing the plane to fly with underinflated tyres.
The tragedy began when the aircraft, a Douglas DC-8-61 operated by Nationair Canada, was prepared for a flight from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Sokoto, Nigeria. Days before the flight, mechanics identified that the No. 2 and No. 4 tyres were below the required pressure for safe dispatch. However, a project manager, lacking proper training and desperate to avoid delays, ordered the maintenance to be skipped and instructed staff to falsify log entries to suggest the aircraft was airworthy.
During the takeoff roll, the underinflated No. 2 tyre caused the No. 1 tyre to overheat and fail. As the plane climbed, the landing gear was retracted, bringing burning rubber into the wheel wells. This fire quickly severed hydraulic and electrical lines, causing a total loss of control. Investigators later concluded that if the crew had kept the landing gear extended, the fire might have been contained. Instead, the blaze intensified, eventually burning through the cabin floor and causing the aircraft to break apart in mid-air before crashing just 2,875 metres short of the runway.
The aftermath of the crash revealed a culture of negligence within Nationair Canada. The airline already suffered from a poor reputation for reliability, and the disaster, followed by a bitter 15-month lockout of flight attendants that began in November 1991, crippled the company. By May 1993, the airline declared bankruptcy with debts of CDN$75 million. In 1997, the owner of the airline, Robert Obadia, pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud. Today, the crash remains the deadliest aviation disaster involving a Canadian airline and the worst accident in the history of the Douglas DC-8.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120
- Also: Wikidata — Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 · CC0
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