Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-200, similar to the one involved.
Accident summary
Date	15 September 1988
Summary	Belly landing after bird strike
Site	Bahir Dar Airport, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Passengers	98
Crew	6
Fatalities	35
Survivors	69
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-200
Operator	Ethiopian Airlines
Registration	ET-AJA
Flight origin	Bole International Airport
Last stopover	Bahir Dar Airport
Destination	Asmara International Airport

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604 was a scheduled Addis Ababa–Bahir Dar–Asmara flight, that caught fire during a belly landing at Bahir Dar Airport, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, on 15 September 1988.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-260, registration ET-AJA, delivered new to Ethiopian Airlines. At the time of the accident the aircraft was less than a year old.

Accident description

On 15 September 1988 (1988-09-15), the aircraft was due operate the second leg of a domestic scheduled Addis Ababa–Bahir Dar–Asmara passenger service with 104 occupants on board, of whom 98 were passengers. Both engines of the aircraft ingested a flock of speckled pigeons as it took off from Bahir Dar Airport, and subsequently overheated. One of the engines immediately lost thrust, while the other did so on the emergency return to the departure airport. During a gear-up landing, the aircraft caught fire.

There is some discrepancy over the death toll depending upon the source, as this number is claimed to be 35, or 31. The discrepancy likely arose because four bodies could not be recovered. All of the fatalities were among the passengers.

See also

• Ethiopian Airlines accidents and incidents
• US Airways Flight 1549