ADC Airlines Flight 53

Aviation Development Company Flight 53

The aircraft involved in the accident while still in operation with MetroJet in 2001
Occurrence summary
Date	29 October 2006 (2006-10-29)
Summary	Wind shear, subsequent pilot error causing it to stall and crash
Site	Abuja, Nigeria
Passengers	105
Crew	5
Fatalities	96
Injuries (non-fatal)	9
Survivors	9
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-2B7
Operator	ADC Airlines
Registration	5N-BFK
Flight origin	Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, Nigeria
Stopover	Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria
Last stopover	Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria
Destination	Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport, Sokoto, Nigeria

Aviation Development Company Airlines (ADC) Flight 53 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by ADC Airlines that crashed on 29 October 2006 shortly after take-off from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria, at 11:30 am local time. Immediately after takeoff from Abuja, the Boeing 737 contacted the ground, broke up and caught fire in a corn field. The flight carried 105 passengers and 5 crew.Muhammadu Maccido, the Sultan of Sokoto and spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims, the sultan's son, Senator Badamasi Maccido, Dr Nnennia Mgbor, the first ever female West African ENT surgeon, and Abdulrahman Shehu Shagari, son of former president Shehu Shagari, were on the passenger list. Nine people survived, among those the 3 daughters of Ibrahim Idris, governor of Kogi.

The plane was heading for the northern state of Sokoto. The crash sparked intense national protest to improve the nation's aviation sector. It is the direct cause for the change of the minister of aviation and the complete change to its aviation sector. This was the eleventh Nigerian airliner crash since 1995, bringing the death toll to more than 500 people. The previous crash involving ADC happened on 7 November 1996; 143 people were killed when a Boeing 727 went down near Ejirin, losing control after taking evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision.

President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo, faced with pressure to remove Babalola Borishade, the then Minister of Aviation, transferred Borishade to another department.

ADC Airlines Flight 53 departed Lagos (LOS) on a scheduled domestic flight to Sokoto (SKO) with an intermediate stop at Abuja (ABV). While on ground in Lagos, it uplifted some fuel. There was only cabin crew change. The aircraft departed Lagos on scheduled passenger service Flight 63 at 09:29 local time and landed in Abuja at 10:20. At Abuja at 11:14, the crew of the aircraft requested start-up clearance. This was given along with the prevailing weather information. At 11:21, the crew requested clearance to taxi to the holding point and a wind check; both were given. Over the following six minutes Abuja Tower gave a series of six wind reports, including a statement emphasising the gusty nature of the wind. A thunderstorm was approaching the airport and weather was worsening. At 11:26, the crew of flight 53 requested clearance for immediate takeoff, and the controller re-emphasized the deteriorating weather condition and gave latest wind check, which they acknowledged. Immediately after takeoff from runway 22, the Boeing 737 entered into a headwind -shift to-tailwind windshear, which significantly affected the aerodynamic performance of the airplane. The Pilot Flying responded to the windshear by adding a small amount of power and by pulling back on the control column causing a significant pitch attitude change. The Pilot-not-flying responded to the windshear by calling for the Pilot Flying to pull up. The airplane then entered into a full aerodynamic stall followed by a roll to the left of over 90 degrees and steep descent into the ground. The aircraft was pitched to an attitude that resulted in the temporary disruption of airflow to and momentary loss of power in both engines. The airplane broke up and caught fire in a corn field.