C-GMXQ, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1989
Accident
Date 11 July 1991
Summary Under-inflated tire overheating, leading to an uncontrolled in-flight fire
Site King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Aircraft type Douglas DC-8-61
Operator Nationair Canada on behalf of Nigeria Airways
IATA flight No. WT2120
ICAO flight No. NGA2120
Call sign NIGERIAN 2120
Registration C-GMXQ
Flight origin King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Destination Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport, Sokoto, Nigeria
Occupants 261
Passengers 247
Crew 14
Fatalities 261
Survivors 0
Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 was a chartered passenger flight from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Sokoto, Nigeria, on 11 July 1991, which caught fire shortly after takeoff from King Abdulaziz International Airport and crashed while attempting to return for an emergency landing, killing all 247 passengers and 14 crew members on board.[1][2] The investigation traced the fire to underinflated tires which overheated and burst during takeoff, and subsequently discovered that a project manager had prevented those tires from being replaced because the aircraft was behind schedule. The aircraft was a Douglas DC-8 operated by Nationair Canada for Nigeria Airways. Flight 2120 is the deadliest accident involving a DC-8 and the deadliest aviation disaster involving a Canadian airline.