Yemenia Flight 626

Yemenia Flight 626 was a scheduled flight on an Airbus A310-324 twin-engine jet airliner operated by Yemenia that was flying a scheduled international service, from Sanaa in Yemen to Moroni in Comoros, when it crashed on 30 June 2009 at around 1:50 am local time (10:50 pm on 29 June UTC) while on approach to Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport, killing all but one of the 153 passengers and crew on board. The sole survivor, 12-year-old girl Bahia Bakari, was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean. Bakari was discharged from the hospital on 23 July 2009.

With 152 deaths, it was the deadliest aviation disaster in the Comoros and one of the deadliest modern disasters in the nation.

The final report on the incident concluded that the crew's inappropriate flight control inputs led to an aerodynamic stall. Failing to stabilize the approach, the crew decided to abandon it and made a go-around. While conducting the climb, they were unaware that their inputs caused the automation system to set the thrust to idle, decreasing the airspeed and causing the aircraft to stall. Saturated by their workload and lack of training, the crew failed to properly get out of the stall as they kept making a nose up input. The aircraft eventually impacted the Indian Ocean. The report also noted that the crew did not react to the warnings being issued by the aircraft.

Flight history

Flight 626 was a scheduled international passenger flight from the Yemeni capital of Sana'a to Moroni, the capital of the Comoros. At the time, it was one of the primary flights to the Comoros archipelago. The flight was frequented by Comorian diaspora to come home to their homeland, particularly due to its significantly cheaper prices than the other airliners. Passengers from the flight usually came from multiple countries, with the majority coming from France after working overseas.

On 29 June, Flight 626 began its boarding process. Many of the passengers had been in transit from a previous Yemenia flight from Paris to Sana'a with a stopover in Marseille, which was using an Airbus A330-200. Of the 111 passengers, a total of 52 had boarded in Paris and another 59 boarded in Marseille. Comorians diaspora in the Middle East had gathered in the Yemeni capital and eventually boarded the plane, bringing the total number of occupants to 153 people. Majority of the passengers were families who were travelling back to the Comoros for vacation, as it was summer holiday in France. It also coincided with the "wedding season" in the Comoros, known locally as Ada N'amdra. Accordingly, many on the flight were attendees of the weddings.

On the flight was Captain Hajeb, who would be the commander of the flight and pilot flying, and First Officer Atef, who would be the pilot non-flying. The flight took off at 21:54 local time, approximately 24 minutes late due to issues with the APU, and was due to arrive at Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport in Moroni, Comoros, at 2:30 am local time on 30 June. The take-off and enroute phase were uneventful, and the flight proceeded normally.

Crash

The aircraft continued flying towards the northwest with a decreasing altitude. During the descend, the autopilot was disengaged. The aircraft was flying too low and descending with an alarming rate, prompting the aircraft's warning system to blare on the flight's dangerous altitude. The pilots then pulled the nose up, causing the aircraft to momentarily level off.

The aircraft continued its right turn but soon resumed descending at a vertical speed of approximately 1,000 ft/min. At one point, it descended to an altitude of about 160 ft above the surface of the Indian Ocean. The Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) again issued repeated "Too low, terrain" warnings. During this time, the crew informed Moroni air traffic control that they would call back later and proceeded to extend the landing gear.

Engine thrust was then increased, and the aircraft's nose began to rise. Shortly afterward, a repetitive chime sounded briefly before stopping, and the aircraft's airspeed continued to decrease. As the speed decayed further, the aircraft began to experience aerodynamic buffeting. The pilots, realizing how low they were flying above the sea, immediately pulled up the yoke. The pitch went up as high as 28 degrees, and the aircraft banked heavily to the right while their altitude fluctuated.

The aircraft began to bank to the left and right in quick succession. The low airspeed caused the aircraft to shake more, which caused the pilots to panic. As the aircraft lost its lift, it began to lose altitude as it had entered a stall. The aircraft began to shake violently to the left and right due to lack of lifting forces on the wings. The pilots tried to control the aircraft by pressing the rudder pedals.

After a series of heavy banks and rapidly decreasing airspeed, the aircraft finally had lost all lift forces on the left wing. The left wing stalled completely, causing the stall alarm to blare. Moments later, the aircraft rolled sharply to the left, reaching a bank angle of approximately 74 degrees. The pilots pulled the yoke hard to the right as they tried to save the aircraft by leveling the wings.

The pilots managed to level the wings, but the aircraft kept stalling. Moments later, it impacted the Indian Ocean in the north coast of Grande Comore, approximately 6 km off the coast of Mitsamiouli. Moroni Tower immediately lost all contact with Flight 626. They tried to call the crew four times, but they received no response. The emergency team was quickly informed about the disappearance of the flight. The controller later relayed the information to other controllers in Antananarivo, Dar es Salaam, Sana'a and Réunion about Flight 626. An unnamed United Nations official at the airport said that the control tower had received a notification that the plane was approaching to land before losing contact. An unseasonably strong cold front had moved through the Comoros Islands, bringing winds gusting to 64 km/h and conditions favorable for light to moderate turbulence. Yemeni civil aviation deputy chief Mohammed Abdul Qader said the wind speed was 61 km/h at the time the aircraft was landing.