At , the airline's president was Abdi Mohamed Namus, who employed 120 workers. At this time, the fleet consisted of two Cessna 185s, three DC-3s and four Viscount 700s. One of these Viscounts (6O-AAJ) experienced an accident while landing at Mogadishu on . The aircraft was on final approach when the crew realised that the flight controls were not responding. Control of the aircraft was partly gained by the use of power, but the airframe landed hard, causing the nose gear to collapse. Five people perished in the accident, out of 30 occupants on board. In early 1974, a contract with Tempair for the provision of a Boeing 720B, to be deployed on the Mogadishu–London route, as well as on flights within Africa and to the Middle East, was signed; the agreement effectively came into being in . In late 1975, two Fokker F27s were acquired. In 1976, the company purchased two Boeing 720Bs from American Airlines, the two last ones in service with the American carrier. It also ordered a further two Boeing 707s. Somali Airlines later became a fully state-owned company in 1977, when the government acquired 49% of the shares held by Alitalia.