Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771

Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771

5A-ONG, the aircraft involved in the accident seen on 17 November 2009
Accident
Date	12 May 2010
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain in low visibilty
Site	Near Tripoli International Airport, Tripoli, Libya 32°39′41″N 13°7′9″E / 32.66139°N 13.11917°E / 32.66139; 13.11917
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Airbus A330-202
Operator	Afriqiyah Airways
IATA flight No.	8U771
ICAO flight No.	AAW771
Call sign	AFRIQIYAH 771
Registration	5A-ONG
Flight origin	OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa
Destination	Tripoli International Airport, Tripoli, Libya
Occupants	104
Passengers	93
Crew	11
Fatalities	103
Injuries	1
Survivors	1

Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 was a scheduled international Afriqiyah Airways passenger flight from Johannesburg, South Africa to Tripoli, Libya. On 12 May 2010 at about 06:01 local time (04:01 UTC) while on approach to Tripoli International Airport, the aircraft crashed about 1,200 metres (3,900 ft; 1,300 yd) short of the runway.^[1][2] Of the 104 passengers and crew on board, 103 were killed. The sole survivor was a 9-year-old Dutch boy.^[3][4][5][6]

The crash of Flight 771 was the deadliest aviation disaster in Libya since the crash of Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103 in 1992. This was also the third hull-loss of an Airbus A330 involving fatalities, occurring eleven months after the crash of Air France Flight 447.^[7] The crash was also the first fatal accident in the operational history of Afriqiyah Airways.^[8][9]

The investigation, led by the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority, concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error. Following a series of misunderstandings between the pilots, the flight failed to stabilise its approach, causing the already fatigued crew to execute a missed approach. While initiating the go-around, they suffered somatogravic illusion. They then applied nose-down input at low altitude and caused the aircraft to slam onto terrain.^{[10]: 81–82}