All 114 occupants died when Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashed into a Cameroonian mangrove swamp due to pilot failure to correct excessive bank after takeoff.
Key Facts
- Date of crash
- 5 May 2007
- Aircraft type
- Boeing 737-800
- Total occupants
- 114 people
- Survivors
- 0
- Distance from runway end
- 5.4 km
- Crash site
- Mangrove swamp, south of Douala International Airport
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the nighttime departure from Douala International Airport, the flight crew failed to detect and correct an excessive bank angle that developed after takeoff. The Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority investigation concluded this spatial disorientation or inattention led directly to loss of control of the aircraft.
On 5 May 2007, Kenya Airways Flight 507, operating a scheduled service from Douala to Nairobi, crashed immediately after takeoff. The Boeing 737-800 broke apart and came to rest largely submerged in a mangrove swamp approximately 5.4 kilometres south of the end of runway 12 at Douala International Airport.
All 114 people aboard were killed, with no survivors. The wreckage was found scattered and mostly submerged in the mangrove swamp, complicating recovery efforts. The disaster prompted scrutiny of crew training standards and awareness of spatial disorientation risks during nighttime departures.