Aircraft losses

Saudi Arabian saw two major accidents since the airline was founded in 1945. A total of 18 aircraft were lost since that year. Aircraft losses since the first jet-liner incident in 1979 are listed below.

23 August 2001	B747-300, HZ-AIO, Kuala Lumpur-Sepang IAP, Malaysia
The Jumbo taxied into a draining ditch and was damaged beyond repair. A ground engineer wasn't able to control the aircraft when the nose-wheel steering failed due to limited hydraulic power. The forward fuselage was severely cracked.
6 September 1997	B737-200, HZ-AGM, Najran AP, Saudi Arabia
During take-off engine nr. 2 indicated problems and the start was rejected. During this procedure the aircraft veered of the runway and caught fire, resulting in a write-off. No serious injuries among the 85 passengers and crewmembers.
12 November 1996	B747-100, HZ-AIH, Charki Dhardri, India
Flight SV763, departed from New Delhi IAP, on a scheduled flight to Riyadh collided on 14.000ft head-on with a Kazach Ilyushin IL-76 freighter heading in the opposite direction. Both aircraft immediately disintegrated and crashed leaving no survivors. Cause of the crash was a misunderstanding between the Kazach pilot and the Indian ATC. Both outbound and inbound flight uses the same flightpath with a 1000 ft clearance. Although inbound, the Kazach pilot used the outbound level. 310 passenger and 37 crewmembers died.
19 August 1980	L-1011-200, HZ-AHK, Riyadh IAP, Saudi Arabia
7 minutes after departure from Riyadh the pilot of flight SV163 received a fire warning from cargo compartment C-3. The flight was interrupted and the aircraft returned to Riyadh. During the flight back, some and flames appeared in the aft cabin. The Tristar landed successfully but the pilot told the cabin crew, not to evacuate. The aircraft slowly turned into the taxiway and the engines were shut down. Nobody from inside the aircraft opened the doors, so the emergency crew had to open them, which took some 23 minutes. When entering the plane none of the 287 passengers and 14 crewmembers was alive. The cause of the fire was never determined. Poor emergency management on behalf of the captain was cited as the main factor, who failed to brief the cabin crew for evacuation and failed to come to an immediate stop on the runway lead to a disastrous level of intoxication inside the cabin.
30 November 1979	B707, HZ-ACE, Jeddah IAP, Saudi Arabia
Structural damage was received during a heavy landing, nose gear first, at Jeddah IAP. The aircraft was withdrawn from service and used as a maintenance and cabin trainer.

Information was noted November 2004