Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771
Encyclopedia
Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 was a scheduled international passenger flight that crashed on 12 May 2010 at about 06:10 local time
UTC+2
UTC+02 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:-Central Africa Time:*Botswana*Burundi*Democratic Republic of the Congo...

 (04:10 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...

) on approach to Tripoli International Airport
Tripoli International Airport
The Tripoli International Airport is an international airport that serves Tripoli, Libya. It is operated by the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Bureau of Libya and is the nation's largest airport...

. Of the 104 passengers and crew on board, the sole survivor was 9-year-old Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 boy Ruben van Assouw.

The crash of Flight 771 was the second hull-loss
Write-off
The term write-off describes a reduction in recognized value. In accounting terminology, it refers to recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, it refers to a reduction of taxable income as recognition of certain expenses required to produce the income...

 of an Airbus A330
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....

 in less than a year and the third hull-loss of an Airbus A330 in total.

Aircraft

The aircraft was an Airbus A330-200
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....

, registration 5A-ONG, manufacturer's serial number (MSN) 1024. It was delivered in September 2009 and at the time of the accident it had approximately 1,600 hours total flying time and about 420 take-off and landing cycles. The aircraft was powered by two General Electric CF6-80E1
General Electric CF6
The General Electric CF6 is a family of high-bypass turbofan engines produced by GE Aviation. A development of the first high-power high-bypass jet engine available, the TF39, the CF6 powers a wide variety of civilian airliners. The basic engine core formed the basis for the LM2500, LM5000, and...

 engines. It was configured for a capacity of 253 passengers. This particular flight carried 93 passengers and 11 crew. Most of the passengers were Dutch citizens returning from holiday in South Africa. An airport official stated that 13 Libyans, both passengers and crew, had lost their lives in the crash.

Flight

The flight originated at OR Tambo International Airport, serving Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. It was scheduled to land at its final destination Tripoli International Airport
Tripoli International Airport
The Tripoli International Airport is an international airport that serves Tripoli, Libya. It is operated by the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Bureau of Libya and is the nation's largest airport...

, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

. During the final approach and up to the moment of the accident the pilot had not reported any problems to the control tower. The aircraft crashed about 900 metres (984.3 yd) short of Runway 09, and came to rest within the perimeter of the airfield. It was reported that there was no post-crash fire. The crash was originally reported to have occurred just one metre from the airport runway. The METAR
METAR
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by pilots in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting....

 in force at the time of the crash was HLLT 120350Z VRB01KT 6000 NSC 19/17 Q1008.[A] The main runway of the airport is 3600 metres (11,811 ft) long. The airport does not have a precision approach system
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...

 on runway 09 that would direct aircraft down to the runway but has two other simpler systems that are also used throughout the world. Security officials stated that the plane exploded on landing before disintegrating. Libyan Transport Minister Mohammed Ali Zidan has ruled out terrorism as a cause. During the incident, the aircraft damaged a house on the ground. The homeowner, his wife, and their five children escaped unharmed. The house and a nearby mosque are scheduled to be demolished as part of the airport expansion plans. The first body of a non-Libyan passenger was repatriated to the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...

 on 27 May 2010. On 21 June 2010 the Libyan authorities began clearing the accident site of Afriqiyah 771.

At the time, the accident was the second deadliest involving an Airbus A330
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....

, and the second deadliest accident to have happened in Libya. It was also the first hull-loss accident for Afriqiyah Airways.

Investigation

The Libyan Civil Aviation Authority
Libyan Civil Aviation Authority
The Libyan Civil Aviation Authority was the civil aviation authority of Libya when it was ruled by Muammar Gaddafi.-External links:*...

 (LYCAA) opened an investigation into the accident. Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....

 stated that it would provide full technical assistance to the authorities investigating the crash, and would do so via the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile is an agency of the French government, responsible for investigating aviation accidents and making safety recommendations based on what is learned from those investigations. It is headquartered in Building 153 on the grounds...

 (BEA). The South African Civil Aviation Authority
South African Civil Aviation Authority
The South African Civil Aviation Authority is the South African national aviation authority, overseeing civil aviation and governing investigations of aviation accidents and incidents. It is headquartered in the Midrand community of Johannesburg.-External links:* *...

 sent a team to assist with the investigation. The BEA assisted in the investigation with an initial team of two investigators, accompanied by five advisors from Airbus. The Dutch Safety Board
Dutch Safety Board
The Dutch Safety Board; Onderzoeksraad Voor Veiligheid , is based in The Hague, The Netherlands. The first chairman was Pieter van Vollenhoven, who served until February of 2011...

 (Onderzoeksraad voor de Veiligheid "Research Council for Safety") sent an observer. The flight recorder
Flight recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of an aircraft accident or incident. For this reason, flight recorders are required to be capable of surviving the conditions likely to be encountered in a severe aircraft...

s were recovered and sent to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 for analysis soon after the incident.

Sources indicated that sand and mist created low visibility that played a role in the crash when the pilot turned the autopilot
Autopilot
An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. An autopilot can refer specifically to aircraft, self-steering gear for boats, or auto guidance of space craft and missiles...

 off for manual landing, realised that he was in trouble and tried to pull up and turn the autopilot back on for another attempt, by which time it was too late. Authorities are currently reviewing the Flight Data Recorder
Flight data recorder
A flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...

  In August 2010, it was reported that preliminary investigations were complete. There was no evidence of any technical problems nor was there any fuel shortage. No technical or medical problems had been reported by the crew and they had not requested any assistance. In April 2011, the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting
Nederlandse Omroep Stichting
The Nederlandse Omroep Stichting , English: Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation, is one of the broadcasters in the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system...

 reported that due to the Civil War in Libya
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...

, the investigation was being hampered, with Dutch authorities unable to get any response from the LCAA. The data from the Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder had been extracted, and the results given to the LCAA. Libyan authorities are reported to be claiming that the pilot suffered a heart attack, although it is claimed that no autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...

 had been performed on his body. A counterclaim is that the pilots were fatigued, having flown two consecutive night flights.

Reactions

Afriqiyah Airways issued a statement saying that relatives of the victims who wished to visit Libya would be transported and accommodated at Afriqiyah's expense. The Libyan authorities relaxed certain passport restrictions and guaranteed the granting of visas. By 15 May 2010 the airline opened the Family Assistance Centre in a hotel in Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

 to care for family members and relatives of crash victims who were visiting Libya. The executive team of Afriqiyah, including the CEO and the chairperson of the board, met family members at the hotel. Some family members wanted to visit the crash site; they travelled to the site and placed flowers there. The airline permanently retired the flight number 771 and it has been re-designated to 788 for Tripoli to Johannesburg and 789 for the return flight.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...

 expressed her shock at hearing the news. The President of South Africa
President of South Africa
The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....

, Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....

, also offered his condolences.

Passengers and crew

The passengers aboard Flight 771 were of various nationalities. As of 22:00 UTC on 13 May, the nationality of one passenger has not yet been released. All but one of the eleven crew members were Libyans. One passenger held dual citizenship. The following list reflects the airline's passenger nationality count of the victims. The airline released the manifest on the morning of 15 May 2010; the airline sent the list to several related embassies.
Nationality Killed Survivors Total
Passengers Crew
  Dutch 67  – 1 68
 Libya Libyan 2 10  – 12
 South Africa South African 13*  –  – 13*
 Belgium Belgian 4  –  – 4
  Austrian 2  –  – 2
 Republic of Ireland Irish 1*  –  – 1*
  British 1  –  – 1
 Early Modern France French 1  –  – 1
 Philippines Filipino  – 1  – 1
 Germany German 1  –  – 1
  Zimbabwean 1  –  – 1
Total 92* 11 1 103*

* one South African passport holder, Bree O'Mara
Bree O'Mara
Bridgid "Bree" O'Mara was an Irish-South African novelist, ballet dancer, TV producer and air hostess who was killed in the crash of Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771.-Early life:...

, had dual South African and Irish citizenships.


The Libyan Transport Minister Mohamed Zidan reported that the sole survivor was a boy travelling on a Dutch passport, who was found in the debris. He was later identified as 9-year-old Ruben van Assouw, a resident of the city of Tilburg
Tilburg
Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....

 who was returning from a safari with his family. His parents and brother were also on the plane. Van Assouw was taken to Sabia'a Hospital, 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) south-east of Tripoli and later transferred to Al-Khadhra Hospital, Tripoli, to undergo surgery for multiple fractures in both legs. Dutch Foreign Ministry
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs: it is occupied with the external relations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, including European cooperation and International development...

 spokesman Ad Meijer said the child has no life-threatening injuries. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Captain Sabri Shadi, the head of Afriqiyah Airways, visited Van Assouw while he was hospitalised in Libya. On 15 May, he was transferred by air ambulance to Eindhoven
Eindhoven Airport
-Facilities:Passenger facilities available include: Exchange office, Lost property office, Luggage lockers, Baby changing area and a Health centre. Wireless internet access is provided free of charge throughout the airport. A business lounge is available too. Major car rental companies have their...

 in the Netherlands. Van Assouw was accompanied on the flight by his aunt and uncle.

Of the passengers, 42 were continuing to Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

, 32 were continuing to Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, seven to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, and one to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. Eleven of the passengers had Libya as their final destination. Of the 71 passengers identified as Dutch by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs: it is occupied with the external relations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, including European cooperation and International development...

, 38 were travelling with the Stip travel agency
Travel agency
A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...

, 24 were travelling with the Kras travel agency, and 9, including the survivor, had their tickets booked independently.

Among the victims were Frans Dreyer, brother of South African Member of Parliament
Parliament of South Africa
The Parliament of South Africa is South Africa's legislature and under the country's current Constitution is composed of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces....

 Anchen Dreyer
Anchen Dreyer
Anchen Margaretha Dreyer is a South African politician, currently the Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration, and a Member of Parliament for the opposition Democratic Alliance...

. and his friend and colleague, Anton Matthee. On the evening of 12 May 2010, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland)
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for promoting the interests of Ireland in the European Union and the wider world...

 confirmed that one of its passport holders was on the plane, novelist Bree O'Mara
Bree O'Mara
Bridgid "Bree" O'Mara was an Irish-South African novelist, ballet dancer, TV producer and air hostess who was killed in the crash of Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771.-Early life:...

. One of the Dutch victims was Joëlle van Noppen
Joëlle van Noppen
Joëlle van Noppen was a Dutch singer.From 1997 to 2000, Joëlle was a member of the Dutch girl group WOW!. Until her death she was still active to a small extent as a cabaret singer....

, singer in the former Dutch girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...

 WOW!
WOW! (band)
WOW! was a Dutch girl group in the late nineties and early noughties who were produced by the duo Bolland & Bolland.Former group member Joëlle van Noppen died in the Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 plane crash on 12 May 2010.-History:...

.

The flight deck members were identified as Captain Yousef Bashir Al-Saadi , Co-pilot Tareq Mousa Abu Al-Chaouachi , and Co-pilot Nazim Al-Mabruk Al-Tarhuni .

See also

  • Air France Flight 447
    Air France Flight 447
    Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled airline flight from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Paris-Roissy involving an Airbus A330-200 aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009, killing all 216 passengers and 12 aircrew. The investigation is still ongoing, and the cause of the...

    , the only other fatal accident involving an Airbus A330.
  • Northwest Airlines Flight 255
    Northwest Airlines Flight 255
    Northwest Airlines Flight 255 was a flight that originated at MBS International Airport in Saginaw, Michigan, and was scheduled to terminate at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, with intermediate stops at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, near Detroit,...

  • A330 test flight crash, first fatal accident involving an A330, 7 crewmembers died while the aircraft stalled and crashed near Toulouse.
  • Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103
    Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103
    Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103 was a Boeing 727 with 10 crew and 147 passengers on board that was involved in a mid-air collision on 22 December 1992. The aircraft was just under 18 years old at the time of the accident. On the day of the accident Flight 1103 took off from Benina International...

    , the deadliest accident in Libya at the time Flight 771 crashed.
  • List of sole survivors of aviation accidents or incidents
  • Turkish Airlines Flight 1951
    Turkish Airlines Flight 1951
    Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 was a passenger flight which crashed during landing to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands, on 25 February 2009, killing nine passengers and crew including all three pilots....

    , British Airways Flight 38
    British Airways Flight 38
    British Airways Flight 38 was a scheduled flight from Beijing Capital International Airport which crash landed just short of the runway at its destination, London Heathrow Airport, on 17 January 2008 after an flight. There were no fatalities, but 47 people sustained injuries...

    , and British Midland Flight 92, similar incidents involving aircraft that crashed short of the runway.

External links

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