Air Algérie Flight 6289
Air Algérie Flight 6289 (AH6289) was an Algerian domestic passenger flight from Tamanrasset to the nation's capital of Algiers with a stopover in Ghardaïa, operated by Algerian national airline Air Algérie. On 6 March 2003, the aircraft operating the flight, a Boeing 737-2T4, crashed near the Trans-Sahara Highway shortly after taking off from Tamanrasset's Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport, killing all but one of the 103 people on board. At the time of the accident, it was the deadliest aviation disaster on Algerian soil.
7T-VEZ, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen here on 29 August 1999 in a previous livery | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 6 March 2003 |
| Summary | Stalled after engine failure on take-off |
| Site | Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport, Tamanrasset, Algeria 22°47′N 5°31′E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-2T4 |
| Aircraft name | Monts du Daia |
| Operator | Air Algérie |
| IATA flight No. | AH6289 |
| ICAO flight No. | DAH6289 |
| Call sign | AIR ALGERIE 6289 |
| Registration | 7T-VEZ |
| Flight origin | Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport, Tamanrasset, Algeria |
| Stopover | Noumérat – Moufdi Zakaria Airport, Ghardaia, Algeria |
| Destination | Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers, Algeria |
| Occupants | 103 |
| Passengers | 97 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 102 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Survivors | 1 |
The investigation concluded that a flight crew error caused the crash following an engine failure shortly after take-off. The captain of Flight 6289 had taken over the control from the first officer without adequate identification of the actual emergency. As the flight crew could not comprehend the exact cause of the emergency, appropriate corrective actions were not taken. The speed drastically dropped and the aircraft crashed into the terrain.