In the accident descripton of AirDisaster.Com it is indicated that the
747 Hydro Air Cargo airarft was cleared to land on a NOTAM'd
unservicable runway namely runmay 19R. How is that possible? Please
explain.

Hello marelena1 and thank you for your question.

Whilst the official investigation is still ongoing, it's almost
certain that the pilot was instructed to land on a runway that was out
of use by an air traffic controller.  Why didn't the pilot see the
construction equipment on the runway? you might ask, this is because
the accident happened at 2.35am


"An airport official who asked not to be named told AFP the air
traffic controller on duty at the time of the accident has been
suspended for negligence.

He said the employee was being punished for instructing the pilot to
land on a runaway that had been temporarily closed down for repairs
since last Tuesday."
http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/mon/dec1w27.htm

======================================================================

"Meanwhile, aviation sources said the runaway 1/9 right, where the
aircraft crash landed, had been closed to traffic since November 25,
for repairs and that Notice To Air Men had been issued to that effect.

It was also gathered that men of the Accidents Investigation and
Prevention Bureau have began to examine the recorded communication
between the cockpit and the control tower to determine which runaway
the pilot was directed to use"
http://www.punchng.com/searchpunch/

======================================================================

"Cargo plane crash lands in Lagos

(LAGOS, Nigeria) A Belgian cargo plane has crash landed at Nigeria's
main international airport in Lagos, but no lives were lost, officials
said. The Boeing 747 aircraft belonging to Belgium-based Hydro Air
Cargo was making a stopover in Lagos on Saturday while en route to the
South African capital Pretoria, and crash landed apparently due to an
air traffic control error."

======================================================================

"A statement issued by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation,
Mr. Tomi Oyelade said the accident occurred at 2.35 am on Saturday,
Nove-mber 29"
http://www.thisdayonline.com/news/20031130news03.html


Thank you for your question, and if you need any clarification of my
answer do not hesitate to ask.

Very best regards

THX1138

Search strategy included:
crash lagos
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&q=crash+lagos

---

Clarification of Answer by thx1138-ga on 08 Dec 2003 08:16 PST

Hello again marelena1

Just to add a little to my answer.

You can now see a picture of the crashed Hydro Air Cargo 747 towards
the bottom of this website.
http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/1281090/

also see:

"The Hydro Air pilot twice told the air traffic controller that
according to his notes the runway onto which he had been directed to
land was under reconstruction. The controller denied this The runway
appeared to be functioning normally. Its lights were on, navigation
aids were working and there were no markings to indicate that it was
unserviceable. However, shortly after touchdown the jumbo ran at high
speed onto the unsurfaced section of runway, ripping out the left side
undercarriage and severely damaging a wing and two engines of the
multimillion-dollar jet.

Reports said the air traffic controller ran away, but was arrested the
next morning."
http://www.suntimes.co.za/2003/12/07/business/news/news05.asp

Best regards

THX1138

There's some recent news on this accident.  Seems the runway lights
were left on even though the runway was undergoing construction, and
the plane was mistakenly given the go-ahead for a landing:

http://allafrica.com/stories/200402090466.html