102 Seconds to Tragedy: The KQ Crash in Douala Revisited
On the evening of Friday, May 5, 2007, heavy rains and lightning struck the Cameroonian city of Douala.
Kenya Airways flight KQ 507 was one of three delayed flights scheduled to depart Douala International Airport at 11 p.m.
However, after one hour, the KQ flight took off and ascended into the stormy, pitch-black skies. The Boeing 738-800 crashed into a mangrove forest after only 102 seconds, killing all 114 people on board.
It has been sixteen years since the crash.
The Nation has now returned to the case, poring over dozens of pages of investigation reports and interviewing witnesses, former airline employees, and journalists who covered the crash to reconstruct what transpired and why.
The Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority’s technical investigation report provides answers to some of the questions, attributing the crash to the pilot, the weather, and a communication breakdown in the cockpit.
The report, which was released on April 28, 2010, notes that the pilot took off without authorization from air traffic control and that “there was a fallout in the cockpit in which the captain and first officer were not working as a team and the first officer did not call out piloting lapses.”
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“The crew took off in full knowledge of the prevailing meteorological condition, air traffic control did not broadcast the most recent weather reports to KQ 507, and the controller at the tower used French to transmit a special weather report indicating rapidly deteriorating conditions in response to a request that was also made in French by the subject carrier,” the report states, implying KQ 507 likely did not comprehend its severity.
In addition, at 1,000 feet altitude, the pilot released flight controls for 55 seconds without engaging the autopilot command, meaning the plane was in flight without pilot input or autopilot.
The main cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error. A background check on the captain revealed that he had some red flags in his past and lacked adequate cockpit skills.
According to the report, the captain appeared unaware as the bank angle (basically a turning angle) of the airplane increased continuously by itself to 34 degrees.
Just before the alarm sounded, the captain seized the controls. And made erratic adjustments, increasing the bank angle to 50 degrees.
When the autopilot was engaged, the inclination of the aircraft tended to stabilize. However, as soon as the pilot regained control, the bank angle increased to approximately 70 degrees.
At that moment, the captain yelled “We are crashing” and the first officer confirmed it.
A prolonged right rudder input increased the bank angle beyond 90 degrees, resulting in a dive by the aircraft.
The first officer shouted urgently to the captain to level the wings to the right. Before quickly correcting and insisting, “left, left, left captain”
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The bank angle was reduced to 70 degrees, but it was too late. The plane crashed 5.42 kilometers from the airport inside a mangrove forest.
As a result of the Emergency Locator Transmitter’s destruction upon impact. No useful signal was emitted to aid in locating the aircraft after the accident.
When the captain instructed the first officer to engage the autopilot. The first officer should have pushed the appropriate button and responded, “Autopilot engaged.”
However, it appears that the first officer was preoccupied with entering the route around the severe storm. And neglected to engage the autopilot.
The captain, on the other hand, believed it to be engaged and consequently released the controls.
The investigation team focused on the cockpit voice recorder regarding the dispute between the 52-year-old captain and the 23-year-old first officer.
The recording of the flight from Abidjan to Douala revealed the reason for the first officer’s silence.
The captain could be heard yelling at the first officer, “What is wrong with you?U
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And when the officer asked the captain to clarify whether he had instructed him to climb to 1,400 feet, the captain replied…
Yes, don’t be an idiot, write it down if you can’t remember, with the addition, “What’s wrong with you, did you not hear the instructions?”
After receiving that verbal reprimand, the first officer ceased all communication with the captain.
The initiation
KQ 507 initiated communication with the air traffic controller at 10:33 p.m., requesting start-up data, which was transmitted at 11:20 p.m. KQ 507 then requested clearance, which was granted. At 11:37 p.m., however, the crew canceled takeoff to wait for the weather to improve.
The captain instructed the first officer to request taxi clearance at 11:54 p.m.
The officer appeared surprised by the rapidity of the instructions; he was told to attempt to keep up.
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The captain used the aircraft’s weather radar to determine a route around the storm, informing the control tower that after takeoff he would maintain a heading to the left. However, the first officer whispered “to the right,” prompting the captain to apologize and say “sorry to the right.” The captain’s thoughts were on how to navigate around the storm.
At 12:06 a.m., the aircraft took off without permission from the control tower, a major procedural violation.
The unfortunate flight was to have two legs, departing from Abidjan in Ivory Coast and landing in Nairobi, Kenya.
The majority of passengers were connecting flights at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The flight took off from Félix-Houphout-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan at 6.30 p.m. on May 4, 2007, and landed safely at Douala International Airport at 10 p.m. 0100 hours for a scheduled layover.
38 passengers disembarked, while 91 new passengers boarded the aircraft. Saturday, 6:15 a.m. was the anticipated arrival time in Nairobi.
As soon as the aircraft departed Douala Airport, its signal was lost and it remained unnoticed until the Nairobi control tower contacted Douala to confirm that the aircraft had indeed departed.
Crisis
Mr. Mike Okwiri, who was KQ’s spokesperson at the time, claims that the operation team raised the signal three to four hours later.
At 5 a.m. that morning, Kenya Airways’ top brass gathered hastily at its Embakasi headquarters, where a command center had been established.
A catastrophe of monumental proportions had occurred.
“Initially, people needed time to acclimate and process the news, and then the process of communicating with Douala residents began. Mr. Okwiri stated that communication was difficult because Douala differs from Nairobi in terms of communication.
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On that Saturday morning, then-KQ chief executive officer Titus Naikuni made the first official announcement. When he appeared before the cameras, it was evident that he was carrying a heavy burden. Local and international journalists waited impatiently for him to finish and begin answering questions.
The nation remained in the dark for nearly 48 hours. Mr. Naikuni was required to personally appear at the State House with a map to brief former President Mwai Kibaki. The location of the aircraft remained unknown, and there was no confirmation of a crash.
Former Kenya Airways manager in charge of cargo and revenue capacity, Dan Okwiri, who was on duty the morning the plane disappeared, describes the turn of events as somewhat unexpected.
“I knew the aircraft’s route was over land. Why did it take two days to locate the plane that had crashed on the ground?” asks Mr Okwiri.
The aircraft was airborne for less than two minutes, indicating that it was near the airport. Therefore, the absence of the object for two days was cause for grave concern.
Pressure against Kenya Airways was mounting from all sides. The Kenyan and Cameroonian governments, families of passengers on board, Boeing manufacturers, and the insurance company all desired information regarding the plane’s location.
On the evening of Monday, May 7, it was reported that debris from KQ 507 had been spotted in the Mbanga Pongo mangrove swamp, on the bank of the Dibamba River, 5.42 kilometers from Doula airport.
Transport Minister Chirau Mwakwere, who was in Cameroon at the time, led a team to the crash site. He described the scene as heartbreaking, horrifying, and catastrophic.
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Mr. Dennis Onsarigo, who was among the journalists who flew to Douala to cover the incident, reports that the wreckage was spotted around 8:30 p.m.
The party immediately left for the forest. They relied on only French-speaking locals, while the delegation spoke and understood English.
He adds that the journey into the forest was difficult because their cell phone lights eventually ran out of power.
They clung to one another as they traversed the dense forest
“We realized we had arrived at the site when the stench of jet fuel and decaying bodies overwhelmed us. Mr. Onsarigo explains that KQ had a difficult time describing the plane’s location, so we had to rush into the forest that night to confirm.
According to him, the sight of the crash was horrifying.
“A vast crater was formed when the plane crashed into the ground and subsequently exploded. Then there was a pool of water with floating jet fuel and scattered human remains. It was horrifying, according to Mr. Onsarigo.
All 114 passengers, who represented 26 countries, perished. There were 108 passengers and six members of the crew.
Hardest hit
Cameroon was the hardest-hit country with 37 fatalities, followed by India with 15 deaths.
Kenya had nine victims (3 passengers and 6 crew members), South Africa had seven, Ivory Coast had six, Nigeria had six, China and the United Kingdom each had five, and Nigeria had six.
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Comoros, Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were among the additional countries affected.
West Africa had the highest proportion of victims from the business sector.
A woman working at the airport that night recounted the events of that dark Friday to journalists, describing the passengers’ faces as she checked them in as they boarded the plane.
Mr. Onsarigo reports that she mentioned a newlywed couple who were departing for their honeymoon, as well as a wealthy West African man who had so much cash on him that he had to declare it before boarding.
“We had traders who flew KQ twice or three times per month to China to purchase mobile phones in bulk. They carried dollars in cash, according to Mr. Okwiri.
The crash at Douala was a major setback for Kenya Airways because the involved aircraft was only six months old and the newest on the market at the time.
In the middle
The reputation of Kenya’s national airline was at stake. Personnel from anti-terror police, the National Security Intelligence Service (now National Intelligence Service), and the Kenya Air Force were dispatched to Douala to determine if the incident was a terrorist attack.
After the ill-fated Kenya Airways flight, flight 287 of Royal Air Maroc successfully took off. The third flight also successfully took off from Douala airport, raising the question: what happened to KQ 507?
Despondent relatives had traveled to Douala in the hope of recovering the remains of their deceased loved ones, but this was not the case.
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There was nothing to identify, repatriate back home, or bury.
“That is a difficult thing to describe. Even the captain’s family was unable to identify the body. There was no resolution. “I will never forget how devastated his wife and children were,” says Mr. Okwiri.
He adds that it was heartbreaking to see the family of his deceased colleague enter the swamp, pick up mud, and then fall crying into the murky water.
Other families simply scooped up the mud and carried it home.
Some journalists who had been on the job for more than 10 days were also affected. Nation Media Group journalists were required to undergo therapy.
Kenya Airways hired a South African company to assist with the DNA identification procedure, but for five months, nothing appeared to have happened.
Kenya Airways and Cameroonian authorities were involved in a standoff.
The fact that neither KQ’s top management nor Kenyan government officials had visited Douala while investigations were ongoing offended Cameroon, which refused to issue clearance for the repatriation of the remains.
The victims’ families were growing impatient. Mr. Okwiri was tasked with flying to Cameroon to assume command.
Hostility
Mr. Okwiri claims that when he arrived in Douala, he was met with hostility from the team he was replacing; they had called Nairobi to demand an explanation for the transfer. He was able to secure an appointment with the Douala governor.
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Mr. Okwiri says that he could feel the tension rising from the start as the local administration spoke in French, which he did not understand.
An enraged governor slammed the table and yelled, “For God’s sake, 37 of our citizens died on that aircraft, and we haven’t seen anyone from KQ in the last five months. Instead, you sent a team from South Africa to handle this sensitive issue for us. This is our blood that spilled!”
On the second day, Mr. Okwiri was able to persuade the governor to give clearance for processing of death certificates to allow repatriation of remains, on the condition that a requiem service be held in Douala within 10 days and Kenya Airways fly in the family members of all 114 victims.
Psychological nightmare
For the airline, this was a logistical and emotional nightmare.
Even though only 58 pieces of skeletal remains were discovered, all family members were flown in; the remainder were in for yet another round of disappointment.
Mr. Okwiri states that dealing with a person who has received the victim’s remains is somewhat easier because there is closure, whereas conversing with a victim’s relative who has no remains is hell.
“I will never forget a woman from India who had lost five family members without a trace. She was holding me by the neck while crying without tears and stating that she does not want compensation because she had lost everything, according to Mr. Okwiri.
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Those unfortunate enough to receive the remains of their loved ones were unable to find satisfaction. Those with skeletal remains had only isolated body parts.
No remains of the KQ crew were located. Empty caskets were flown to Nairobi, where they were symbolically received by coworkers.
Peculiarities
Several repatriations exhibited peculiarities. For example, Indian victims were required to be cremated, but it was difficult to locate a crematorium in Douala.
Mr. Okwiri was required to perform the ritual on his own, as he had studied in India and acquired knowledge of its culture.
The following few days, he kept the ashes of six victims in his hotel room, claiming he could feel their spirits, whether real or imagined.
“I slept with the ashes of unknown individuals. You can envision the feelings. Even if I consumed an entire bottle of whiskey at night, something I do not normally do, I would remain sober. “It was difficult,” says Mr. Okwiri.
After completing his mission in Douala, Mr. Okwiri returned to Kenya by plane. After 25 years of service, he lost his job at the airline.
He relocated to Migori County, where he operates his company.
102 Seconds to Tragedy: The KQ Crash in Douala Revisited
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