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Some info on the owner here plus speculation on the cause( overloading). Ownership in Africa is deliberately vague for the very good reason that unscrupulous operators don't want to take responsibility for their crimes.

I felt very soory for those who lost thier life in Africa on Board the B727.
All reports indicate that the aircraft hit the building at the end of the runway while the Landing Gears still down and that they suspected that the aircraft was over weight.

This Aircraft was previously planned to go on Labanese registeration and the application was rejected due to safety concern (Maintenance History) and that aircraft was not brought up todate by the owner who is based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
The owner is known for his reputation attitude toward maintenance and compliance with regulations.......

This give a clear indication that this owner is not only cutting corners in sfaety and maintenance but intentially harming people on board and should face the consequences.

It is a sad things to see people like that in Aviation.............
And it is time for Authorities to step and take sever action against those people specially in The UAE where many charters arlines are based thier using it as a base for maintenance while the aircraft is registered in Non accountable Authorities like New Guinee, Swaziland< Kinshasa, Sudan and many others.....

Rodiano,
You have some very accurate background on the owner of this aircraft. He is based in Sharjah, but he is originally from Palestine and holds a US passport. His home is in Miami and he hides under the name J Taylor Investments.
I hate to say this but I saw something like this coming when on 7 Nov I made a post about his Dangerous B747 operation flying pilgrims out of Tripoli to Jedah. I contacted the authorities in the countries where he is operating his aircraft and where it is registered with no response.
I believe the cockpit crew was from Syria-not sure. He focuses on crews that are "Down and Out in Aviation" and are willing to work for cheap wages. They are more willing to take his bullying and will accept an aircraft that is overweight and not on the "UP and Up" when it comes to maintenance.
I am very sorry to see the loss of life that this man has caused and I hope he is unable to sleep at night and is unable to look at himself in the mirror every morning.

The Plumber

Overloading blamed for air crash
Lebanon says overloading may have caused Thursday's plane crash in Benin that killed over 130 people, many of them Lebanese residents of West Africa.
After returning to Beirut with 15 survivors, Lebanon's Foreign Minister Jean Obeid said there seemed to have been too many people and bags on board.

Fifteen Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers were among those who died in the crash.

The Beirut-bound plane plunged into the sea shortly after taking off from Cotonou, the main city in Benin.

Twenty-two people survived, including the Lebanese pilot of the Boeing 727, which was carrying 161 people.

Most of those on board the plane were Lebanese nationals returning to Lebanon during the Christmas holiday. Cotonou has a large Lebanese community.

Mr Obeid said there should be an investigation in Lebanon, in addition to one already launched in Benin.

"It appears that the number of passengers exceeds the normal number, in addition to the load, which it appears was very much in excess," he told reporters in Beirut.