Nigeria Airways Flight 925 - Misplaced Pages

1969 aviation accident

Nigeria Airways Flight 925
Accident
The aircraft involved, when still in service with BOAC
Date	20 November 1969
Summary	Undetermined; probable CFIT due to pilot error
Site	13 kilometres (8.1 mi; 7.0 nmi) N of Lagos/Ikeja International Airport (LOS)
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Vickers VC10
Operator	Nigeria Airways
Registration	5N-ABD
Flight origin	London-Heathrow Airport
1st stopover	Roma-Ciampino Airport
Last stopover	Kano International Airport, Nigeria
Destination	Lagos/Ikeja International Airport, Nigeria
Occupants	87
Passengers	76
Crew	11
Fatalities	87
Survivors	0

On 20 November 1969, Nigeria Airways Flight 925, a Vickers VC10 aircraft, crashed while on approach to Lagos International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria killing all 87 people on board.

Flight

Nigeria Airways Flight 925 was en route from London to Lagos with intermediate stops in Rome and Kano. It was piloted by captain Valentine Moore, 56, first officer John Wallis, 30, flight engineer George Albert Baker, 50, and navigator Basil Payton, 49. With its undercarriage down and its flaps partially extended, the VC10 struck trees 13 kilometres (8.1 mi; 7.0 nmi) short of runway 19 at Lagos. The aircraft crashed into the ground in an area of thick forest and exploded.

All 76 passengers and 11 crew on board were killed. Flight 925 was the first ever fatal crash involving the Vickers VC10 as well as the deadliest accident or incident.

Cause

Immediately after the accident, three automatic weapons were found in the wreckage. To counter a rumour that a fight between a prisoner and two guards caused the crash, a ballistics expert was consulted. It was learned that none of the weapons had been recently fired.

The cause of the crash was not determined with certainty. The flight recorder was not working at the time of the crash. It was determined to be most probably due to the flight crew being unaware of the aircraft's actual altitude during the final approach and allowing the aircraft to come below safe height when not in visual contact with the ground. Fatigue may have also been a contributing factor.

References

"Civil Aircraft Accident – Report on the accident to Nigeria Airways VC10 5N-ABD at Lagos Airport, Nigeria on 20 November 1969" (PDF). Air Accident Investigation Branch. Retrieved 17 January 2025 – via the Aviation Safety Network.
^ Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 91.
"First VC10 accident". Flight International: 830. 27 November 1969. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012.
"Nigerian jetliner toll placed at 87". Eugene Register-Guard. 20 November 1969. p. 1.
^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Vickers VC10-1101 5N-ABD Lagos/Ikeja International Airport (LOS)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
"Nigeria Airways and the VC10". www.vc10.net. citing pages 88–93 of "Silent Swift Superb: The Story of the Vickers VC10" by Scott Henderson
"Nigeria Report Soon?". Flight International: 222. 13 August 1970. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Nigeria
Before 1990	Kano Airport BOAC Argonaut crash (June 1956) Nigeria Airways Flight 925 (November 1969) Kano Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 crash (January 1973)
1990s	Nigerian Air Force C-130 crash (September 1992) Nigeria Airways Flight 9805 (December 1994) Lagos Harka Air Services Tu-134 crash (June 1995) Nigeria Airways Flight 357 (November 1995) ADC Airlines Flight 086 (November 1996)
2000s	EAS Airlines Flight 4226 (May 2002) Bellview Airlines Flight 210 (October 2005) Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 (December 2005) ADC Airlines Flight 053 (October 2006)
2010s	Dana Air Flight 0992 (June 2012) Associated Aviation Flight 361 (October 2013)

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1969 (1969)
Jan 5 Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701Jan 6 Allegheny Airlines Flight 737Jan 13 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933Jan 18 United Air Lines Flight 266Feb 18 El Al Flight 432Feb 18 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708Feb 24 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104Mar 5 Prinair Flight 277Mar 16 Viasa Flight 742Mar 20 United Arab Airlines Aswan crashMar 25 Delta Air Lines Flight 821Apr 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165Apr 15 EC-121 shootdown incidentApr 28 LAN-Chile Flight 160May 23 Theft of C-130Jun 4 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704Jun 23 Yukhnov mid-air collisionJun 28 Aeroflot Flight F-28Jul 26 TWA Flight 5787Aug 3 Aeroflot Flight N-826Aug 26 Aeroflot Flight 1770Aug 29 TWA Flight 840Aug 31 Newton Cessna 172 crashSep 9 Allegheny Airlines Flight 853Sep 12 Philippine Air Lines Flight 158Sep 21 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801Sep 26 La Paz LAB DC-6 crashNov 19 Mohawk Airlines Flight 411Nov 20 Nigeria Airways Flight 925Dec 3 Air France Flight 212Dec 8 Olympic Airways Flight 954Dec 11 Korean Air Lines YS-11 hijacking
1968 ◄ ► 1970

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1969 (1969)

Jan 5 Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701Jan 6 Allegheny Airlines Flight 737Jan 13 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933Jan 18 United Air Lines Flight 266Feb 18 El Al Flight 432Feb 18 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708Feb 24 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104Mar 5 Prinair Flight 277Mar 16 Viasa Flight 742Mar 20 United Arab Airlines Aswan crashMar 25 Delta Air Lines Flight 821Apr 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165Apr 15 EC-121 shootdown incidentApr 28 LAN-Chile Flight 160May 23 Theft of C-130Jun 4 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704Jun 23 Yukhnov mid-air collisionJun 28 Aeroflot Flight F-28Jul 26 TWA Flight 5787Aug 3 Aeroflot Flight N-826Aug 26 Aeroflot Flight 1770Aug 29 TWA Flight 840Aug 31 Newton Cessna 172 crashSep 9 Allegheny Airlines Flight 853Sep 12 Philippine Air Lines Flight 158Sep 21 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801Sep 26 La Paz LAB DC-6 crashNov 19 Mohawk Airlines Flight 411Nov 20 Nigeria Airways Flight 925Dec 3 Air France Flight 212Dec 8 Olympic Airways Flight 954Dec 11 Korean Air Lines YS-11 hijacking

1968 ◄ ► 1970

Categories:

Flight

Cause

See also

References