History of Flight
The flight was a three-leg flight. It had originated from London's Heathrow Airport, from which the Boeing flew uneventfully to Athens (Hellinikon Airport). From Athens it then proceeded to Nairobi (Wilson Airport). Departure from Nairobi on the final leg occurred as planned at 07:17, 14 May, destined for Lusaka.
The 707 cruised at flight level 310 for about two hours, after which it was cleared for descent to flight level 110. Flight level 110 was reached at approximately 09:23, and clearance was granted to begin descent towards a target of flight level 70. Just before 09:30, clearance to descend to 6,000 ft (1,800 m) was granted, and moments later the plane was cleared to make a visual approach to runway 10. A few minutes later, witnesses saw the entire right horizontal stabilizer and elevator assembly detach from the aircraft. The aircraft subsequently lost pitch control and entered a nose-dive from about 800 ft (240 m) to ground level, destroying the aircraft on impact.
There were no survivors among the five crew members and one jumpseat passenger on board the aircraft. There were no other fatalities on the ground. The wreckage was located approximately 12,010 ft (3,660 m) from the runway.
Read more about this topic: 1977 Dan-Air Boeing 707 Crash
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