Today In History: Nigeria's deadliest plane crash kills 180 people in Kano

The day, January 22, 1973 is one of those dark days Nigerians, especially those living in Kano will not forget in a jiffy.

The day, which was supposed to be like any other left hearts broken, destinies ended abruptly and children left without their parents.

The Kano air disaster is one for the history books as a chartered Boeing 707 passenger flight carrying more than 200 passengers and crew crashed while it attempted to land at the Kano International Airport.

According to the reports, the crash is the deadliest in Nigeria’s history and one of the deadliest in the world.

The cause of death was attributed to bad weather at the time. Reports say the Boeing 707 aircraft with registration JY-ADO which was operated by Alia at the time was chartered by Nigerian Airways to fly some pilgrims from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Lagos, Nigeria.

The reports paint a vivid picture of the crash. According to Wikipedia: “The aircraft landed nose wheel first, and the nose wheel collapsed after hitting a depression in the runway. The right main landing gear leg subsequently collapsed. The 707 turned 180 degrees, excursed from the runway, and caught fire.”

Plane Crash Info in its summary said: "The landing gear collapsed after hitting a depression in the runway while landing. The aircraft ran off the side of the runway and caught fire. Wake turbulence during the landing."

There are conflicting reports about the actual number of fatalities. New York Times reported that 180 people died while the pilot and 21 other passengers survived.

Plane Crash Info, however, said 176 passengers and crew died while 26 people survived.

According to New York Times, witnesses reported that many persons leaped from the emergency exits of the plane and were then trapped in flames roaring all around them.

Hundreds of soldiers, policemen, and volunteer workers, on hand to control the large crowds of returning pilgrims and their waiting relatives and friends, rushed to the wreckage of the plane after it crashed.

“It was a pathetic, ghastly sight,” one airport worker said afterward.

The crash is one of the deadliest in Aviation history, the other was a Turkish Airlines Flight 981 that crashed in France, killing 346 people.