Nigeria Airways Flight 357

Nigeria Airways Flight 357 was a scheduled Nigeria Airways domestic passenger flight from Yola Airport in Yola to Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, with stops at Yakubu Gowon Airport in Jos and Kaduna International Airport in Kaduna. On 13 November 1995, the Boeing 737-200, during its second leg of the flight from Jos to Kaduna, suffered a runway overrun accident at Kaduna Airport, leading to a fire that destroyed the aircraft. All 14 crew members survived, while 11 of the 124 passengers died.

Accident

Flight 357 departed from Yola Airport at 07:30 UTC bound for Kaduna, carrying 138 people. The captain stated that the official crew complement consisted of eight people; the six additional people on board had been accepted at his discretion and that of the station manager. The estimated time of arrival in Kaduna was 07:46 UTC. Kaduna cleared the flight for an approach to runway 05. However, the captain requested to land on runway 23. The air traffic controller reminded him that the wind was from 090 magnetic, which was a tailwind for runway 23, but the pilot insisted on using runway 23. The captain eventually accepted landing with a tailwind.

Flight 357 then began its descent at 07:42 UTC and was cleared to descend to 3500 ft and then 500 ft. The crew attempted to align the aircraft with the runway. The first officer asked the captain, "Can you make it to land from that position?" A cockpit observer suggested going downwind, presumably to reposition the aircraft for an approach to runway 05. However, the captain gave no response and the approach continued despite the aircraft being unstable. The turn to the left was very steep, causing the Boeing 737 to become misaligned with the runway centreline; the pilot turned to the right to correct the course. The observer had to shout, "Watch the wing," as the wings could have struck the ground during the landing. The crew was still struggling to align the aircraft with the runway.

The aircraft touched down only 615 m from the end of runway 05, after overrunning 79.5% of the runway's total length. The captain deployed the thrust reversers. When a runway excursion became inevitable, the captain steered the aircraft to the left in an attempt to use the final exit taxiway and avoid the runway end lights. At this point, the aircraft entered an uncontrollable skid. The right wing struck the ground, rupturing the fuel tanks and causing a large fire. This was also followed by an explosion. Passengers and crew members rushed to escape from the burning wreckage. 66 people were injured in the accident, 14 of them seriously. Eleven passengers were killed.

The Economist Intelligence Unit stated that "This incident is symptomatic of the problems facing the new management team" of the airline; in August 1995 the airline's board of managers had been replaced.