Addis Ababa-Bole Airport Crash
This post was updated 29th July 2007
On the 19th of June 2005, a Mahfooz Aviation Boeing 707-347C crashed while landing at Addis Ababa-Bole Airport in Ethiopia. Luckily all 5 crew survived, but the aircraft was written off.
Although I could be wrong (hey, it’s happened before), I believe that this Google Earth satellite photo shows the wreckage of that exact crashed plane!
So, what’s my proof? Firstly, the original Google Earth satellite photo was dated as November 2005 and the June crash is the only Addis Ababa-Bole Airport incident listed on the Aviation Safety Network for the whole of 2005.
For further proof I measured the wingspan of the crashed plane using the Google Earth ruler, and it more or less matches the 44.42 m wingspan of a 707-320B.
In December 2006 we took the following screenshot from Google Earth, which showed the plane’s fuselage as little more than a pile of rubble.
The next screenshot was taken in July 2007 when Google Earth’s imagery for the region had been updated.
This shows the fuselage of the plane complete, with the tail section broken off and lying to the side. There is clearly a path of debris leading off the runway, confirming the crash was a runway mishap.
I would guess that the Google Earth image “update” was actually a regression in time, and the second photo shows the plane before it had been dismantled (probably to clear it away).
“the satellite photo is dated as November 2005″
Where does one find that information?
I think you’ve pretty much got all the proof you need right there!
I believe this is the plane, roughly 4 months before it crashed:
http://www1.airliners.net/open.file?id=0758344&size=L&width=1600&height=1079&sok=JURER%20%20%28%20cubgb_vq%20%3D%20%27758344%27%29%20%20beqre%20ol%20&photo_nr=1
Rob, the one you show, is the Boeing 707-3K1C operating for Ethiopian Airlines (9G-IRL) crashed on march 19, 2005.
“…It came in too low, struck a rock, broke up and crashed into Lake Victoria.”
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20050319-0&lang=en
It’s another one.
The one of the 19th of June 2005 is this one :
http://www1.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=C5-MBM&distinct_entry=true
Still no proof is the same than the GoogleEarth capture…
Judging by the disintigrated body of the plane I doubt there would have been any survivors.
Well, there could have been a fire disintegrating the body, after the crew got out I guess.
That plane did NOT crash at that spot. First, it would have been landing crosswise to the runway. Second, there is no disruption to the ground behind it, nor any indication of fire. Third, where are the tire tracks for all of the ground equipment that would have been involved.
Got to disagree with you there R2.
The accident record states there was a ‘runway mishap’ so it is likely the plane veered of the runway on landing and ended up in the position it is.
If it did catch fire it wouldnt take much to destroy it in the way it has, especially if it was bought under control, so its doubtful there was a raging inferno torching the area around. Once the crew were off and safe it was probably a pretty routine accident (if there is such a thing) with little hullabaloo to churn up the surrounding ground.
Its seems too much of a coincedence that James found a report of a crashed plane at the same time as a picture was taken of a crashed plane for them not to be one and the same thing.
A happy coincedence for all of us and a gold star to James for finding it if you ask me.
Many of these planes are dismantled on the spot by locals. The unusable rubble remains, as there aren’t any laws forcing them to clean it up.
Anyone notice the easy to miss plane on the runway?
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
So, the plane crashed in June, and the wreckage is still there in November? Seems like a long time to not clean it up, especially if it’s on airport grounds. Can you imagine being a passenger taking off or landing at that airport and seeing the remains of a crashed plane? That was be kind of unsettling.
Cookie Monster,
According to Bob, the one Rob shows crashed into Lake Victoria. This pic isn’t, it seems to me, Lake Victoria. 707s, IIRC, don’t have fuel in the wings, but rathert, in the hull, so there would have been a pretty good fire. I will buy the theory that it veered off the runway, and there does seem to be some sort of debris behind it.
“Are we going to AH-DIS AH-BABA, Mister Lut’or?”
You’re right, Han, it is unsettling.
I’m also interested in the answer to the first question asked - how do you work out the date of the photo?
Look, Ethiopia is not known for its booming economy. I see nothing odd about leaving a wreck where it is in such a country, considering it is in a strip both off the runway and off the service road, and also considering it was a total loss.
RJ & Dikko, it’s not the easiest, and only works for Google Earth imagery that comes from DigitalGlobe.
You first have to switch on some of the DigitalGlobe layers in Google Earth, and see where the square of the DigitalGlobe layer lines up with the image. Try and find the little “i” marker that lines up with the centre of the image, and click the “Preview” link.
That’ll take you to a page like this one which shows you the DG tile and its date.
Burned aircraft parts (or other things) tend to be black, so I’d say there was no fire. My guess is this is the plane as it was reconstructed for accident investigation purposes, and/or deconstructed for salvage. Maybe the fuselage was cut up for scrap and we’re looking at the interior plastic.
Interesting find no matter what. It is a destroyed passenger aircraft of roughly the right dimensions but little to show that it was once a four-engined 707. It “may” have had 4 engines is the best I can tell. It doesn’t look at me and say 707. It’s in an odd spot but there is a trail of debris from the runway and the suggestion of wheel tracks. IMHO the wheel tracks and debris are consistent with a ‘runway incident’ and swerving, although you’d normally expect to see this sort of accident at either end of the runway, as in an overrun, not partway down and some distance off. If it swerved this hard you’d expect a wing to be ripped off, at least. An aircraft of this size bogs down pretty quickly when off the hard stuff, ripping out the undercarriage and stripping the engines off the wings. The marks left on the ground would be substantial. It may have actually stopped closer to the runway and have been towed to this location for safety. It may also have subsequently been used for firefighting practice. Great spotting, anyway!
Hi Guys,
One thing you seem to be forgetting. At airports they have “dummy” crash scenes where old retired planes are used for training perposes to simulate what would happen if there was a real emergency. Since the plane is still very white (i would have thought a fire would have left black soot and ash everywhere) perhaps that is what this is??!!??
Sam: Yes, but fire training aircraft usually look like these.
I landed this morning to Addis Ababa.
I saw such an airplane near tha landing strip, me as well other passengers were surprised such a wreckage was showing there.
No colors on it, only dirty white.
The body was complete, no disintegrated parts as shown from the satellite.
all of you are off the mark and didn’t do your reserch.
Here are some facts to consider
*The airline is noted for its outstanding safty
*It also has been one of the best in matters of profits and service compared to larger international carriers
*A crash of this nature would not sit their for this long because of the laws requiring investigation and clean up of such incidents by both local and international agencies. (national laws)
*The laws as well as customs of the nation would not allow rumaging threw the plane as some have suggested especialy if it is precived that people have died
***More importantly their was a safty excersise that involved a plane of this nature conducted in that week.
Are there really on laws to make them clean up their wreckage ?
i hav actually found the plane on my current version of ge. the disintergrated rubble you see is gone and the fuslage of the plane is easily visiable.
@ Xanatos: Thanks! I’ve updated the post with this new information.