Flash Airlines Flight 604
Flash Airlines Flight 604, a Boeing 737-300, was a flight from Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to Paris, France, via Cairo. On January 3, 2004 the plane crashed into the Red Sea just moments after take-off at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport. All 135 passengers and 13 crew members on-board the plane died. The cause the crash remains disputed and suggested to be spatial disorientation from the Captain.
 SU-ZCF, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in March 2002 | |
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 3 January 2004 |
| Summary | Loss of control and crash into sea after takeoff; cause disputed
|
| Place | Red Sea near Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt 27°50′N 34°23′E / 27.833°N 34.383°ECoordinates: 27°50′N 34°23′E / 27.833°N 34.383°E |
| Passengers | 135 |
| Crew | 13 |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 0 |
| Fatalities | 148 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-3Q8 |
| Aircraft name | Nour |
| Airline/user | Flash Airlines |
| Registration | SU-ZCF |
| Flew from | Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt |
| Stopover | Cairo International Airport, Cairo, Egypt |
| Flying to | Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France |
The crash remains Egypt's deadliest air-disaster, until the bombing of Kogalymavia Flight 9268, with 224 deaths. The crash is also the worst crash of a Boeing 737-300.
The flight took off at 04:44 Eastern European Time (0244 GMT) from runway 22R at the Egyptian resort en route to Paris via Cairo. After taking off, the aircraft should have climbed and initiated a left turn to follow the air corridor to Cairo designated by the Sharm el-Sheikh VOR station. The captain appeared surprised when the autopilot was engaged, which he immediately switched off again. The copilot warned the captain that the bank angle was increasing. At a bank angle of 40 degrees to the right, the captain said "OK come out".
The ailerons were briefly returned to a neutral before being commanded to increase the bank to the right, likely by the captain in a state of surprise. The aircraft reached an altitude of 5,460 feet (1,660 m) with a 50 degrees bank when the copilot exclaimed "Overbank" repeatedly when the bank angle kept increasing. The bank angle was 111 degrees right, while the pitch attitude was 43 degrees nose down at an altitude of 3,470 feet (1,060 m).
The observer on the flight deck, also a pilot, but a trainee on this 737 variant, shouted "Retard power, retard power, retard power", to get the captain to pull the throttles back so that the aircraft stopped gaining speed. Both throttles were moved to idle; the captain appeared to regain control of the airplane. However the speed increased, activating the overspeed warning.
At 04:45, the aircraft impacted the water about 8.2 nautical miles (15.2 km) south of the airport. The impact occurred while the aircraft was in a 24 degree right bank, 24 degree nose-down attitude, travelling at 416 knots (770 km/h, 478 mph) and pulling 3.9g (38 m/s²). All 148 passengers and crew were lost.
Most of the passengers aboard the flight were French tourists from the Paris metropolitan area. A provisional passenger list, dated 5 January 2004, stated that twelve entire French families had boarded the flight.[1]
| Passenger and crew countries of origin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Passengers | Crew | Total |
 Canada |
0 | 1 | 1 |
 Egypt |
0 | 12 | 12 |
 Japan |
1 | 0 | 1 |
 France |
132 | 0 | 132 |
 United States |
1 | 0 | 1 |
 Morocco |
1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 135 | 13 | 148 |
References
- ↑ Lichfield, John (5 January 2004). "Twelve entire families named among Red Sea crash victims as Swiss reveal airline safety fears". The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/twelve-entire-families-named-among-red-sea-crash-victims-as-swiss-reveal-airline-safety-fears-574815.html. Retrieved 14 January 2009.[dead link]