Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604
Encyclopedia
Ethiopian Airlines
Flight 604 was a scheduled Bahir Dar Airport
–Asmara International Airport
flight, that caught fire during a belly landing
at Bahir Dar Airport
, Bahir Dar
, Ethiopia
, on .
s as it took off from Bahir Dar Airport
, subsequently overheating them. One of the engines immediately lost thrust, while the other did so on the emergency return to the departure airport. During a gear-up landing, the aircraft caught fire.
There is some discrepance over the death toll depending upon the source, as this number is claimed to be 35, or 31. The discrepance likely arose because four bodies could not be recovered. All of the fatalities were among the passengers.
Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines , formerly Ethiopian Air Lines, often referred to as simply Ethiopian, is an airline headquartered on the grounds of Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It serves as the country's flag carrier, and is wholly owned by the Government of Ethiopia...
Flight 604 was a scheduled Bahir Dar Airport
Bahir Dar Airport
Bahir Dar Airport is an airport in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia . Located at an elevation of 1821 meters above sea level, this airport has one runway made of a variety of materials 3000 meters long by 61 wide.-Scheduled services:-Accidents and incidents:...
–Asmara International Airport
Asmara International Airport
Asmara International Airport, formerly known as Yohannes IV International Airport is an airport in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.In 2004, the airport served 136,526 passengers ....
flight, that caught fire during a belly landing
Belly landing
A belly landing or gear-up landing occurs when an aircraft lands without its landing gear fully extended and uses its underside, or belly, as its primary landing device...
at Bahir Dar Airport
Bahir Dar Airport
Bahir Dar Airport is an airport in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia . Located at an elevation of 1821 meters above sea level, this airport has one runway made of a variety of materials 3000 meters long by 61 wide.-Scheduled services:-Accidents and incidents:...
, Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar is a city in north western Ethiopia. It is the capital of the Amhara Region .Administratively, Bahir Dar is considered a Special Zone, placing it midway between Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa which are organized as chartered cities , and cities like Debre Marqos and Dessie, which are...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, on .
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-260, registration ET-AJA, delivered new to Ethiopian Airlines. At the time of the accident the aircraft was less than a year old.Accident description
Both engines of the aircraft ingested a flock of speckled pigeonSpeckled Pigeon
The Speckled Pigeon or Rock Pigeon is a pigeon which is a resident breeding bird in much of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a common and widespread species in open habitats over a good deal of its range, although there are sizeable gaps in its distribution.This species builds a large stick nest...
s as it took off from Bahir Dar Airport
Bahir Dar Airport
Bahir Dar Airport is an airport in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia . Located at an elevation of 1821 meters above sea level, this airport has one runway made of a variety of materials 3000 meters long by 61 wide.-Scheduled services:-Accidents and incidents:...
, subsequently overheating them. One of the engines immediately lost thrust, while the other did so on the emergency return to the departure airport. During a gear-up landing, the aircraft caught fire.
There is some discrepance over the death toll depending upon the source, as this number is claimed to be 35, or 31. The discrepance likely arose because four bodies could not be recovered. All of the fatalities were among the passengers.