Nigeria Airways Flight 925

Nigeria Airways

Industry	Airline
Headquarters	Lagos , Nigeria

Template:EngvarB Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence

On 20 November 1969, Nigeria Airways Flight 925, operating a Vickers VC10, crashed while descending towards Murtala Muhammed International Airport (then Lagos International Airport) in Lagos, Nigeria. The accident resulted in the loss of all 87 individuals aboard.

Flight

Flight 925 was traveling from London to Lagos with scheduled stops in Rome and Kano. The cockpit crew consisted of Captain Valentine Moore, aged 56; First Officer John Wallis, aged 30; Flight Engineer George Albert Baker, aged 50; and Navigator Basil Payton, aged 49. During the approach to runway 19 at Lagos, with landing gear lowered and flaps partially deployed, the VC10 collided with trees approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi; 7.0 nmi) before reaching the runway threshold. The aircraft subsequently crashed into dense forest and caught fire.

Tragically, all passengers and crew—totaling seventy-six and eleven respectively—perished in the crash. This incident marked the first fatal accident involving a Vickers VC10 and remains the deadliest event associated with this aircraft model.

Cause

Following the incident, investigators discovered three automatic firearms among the debris. To dispel speculation that a confrontation between a detainee and two security personnel led to the crash, a ballistics specialist was engaged. The analysis revealed that none of the weapons had been discharged recently.

The definitive cause of the accident remained unclear. At the time of impact, the flight data recorder was inoperative. The most plausible explanation pointed to the flight crew losing awareness of the aircraft’s true altitude during the final approach phase, resulting in descent below a safe altitude while lacking visual ground reference. Additionally, crew fatigue might have played a role in the mishap.

See also

• List of accidents and incidents involving airliners by airline