Boeing 727-200 crash, Dec 25, 2003 (141 killed), Cotonou-...
Boeing 727-200 accident on December 25, 2003 near Cotonou-Cardinal Bernardin Gantin (ex Cadjehoun), Littoral, Benin with 141 fatalities. Cause: Crew...
- Date: December 25, 2003
- Aircraft: Boeing 727-200
- Location: Cotonou-Cardinal Bernardin Gantin (ex Cadjehoun), Littoral, Benin
- Fatalities: 141
- Phase of flight: Takeoff and climb
- Cause: Crew difficulty rotating an overloaded aircraft with an unknown forward centre of gravity, compounded by the operator's poor loading control and weak safety oversight, with a non-frangible building beyond the runway.
A Boeing 727-200 on a weekly scheduled service from Conakry to Beirut via Cotonou took off overloaded from Cotonou with an unknown forward centre of gravity. It struck a localizer building beyond the runway end, broke up and ended up in the sea. Survivors were pulled from the wreckage and the water, but most occupants died.