Cargo plane breaks in two at Brussels airport

Reuters: Africa ^ | Sun 25 May 2008, 15:09 GMT | Jan Strupczewski

[Paleo Conservative]

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - An American Kalitta Air cargo plane slid off the runway at Brussels's Zaventem airport on Sunday and broke in two but there were no casualties, the fire brigade spokesman said.

The Boeing aircraft's five crew all escaped through an inflatable emergency slide, spokesman Francis Boileau said. Four of them had minor injuries.

Boileau did not know if the accident happened during take off or landing, but said that apart from its cargo of cars and equipment, the jet was full of fuel.

He said the plane came to a halt some 200 metres (650 feet) from the runway and only 10 metres (30 feet) from a railway line.

"There was a danger of an explosion just after the accident because it was full of kerosene, about 100 tonnes of it, and there was a big leakage when it broke," Boileau said.

The fire brigade had secured the leakage within 30 minutes, he said.

"We see from the large tracks on the runway that the pilot tried to stop the aircraft, because he understood he could not bring it up into the air, and he drove it off the runway," Boileau said.

The Kalitta Air company's website says it is a Michigan Limited Liability Company owned by Conrad Kalitta. It started in November 2000 with three Boeing 747 aircraft and the fleet has grown to a present total of 18 B 747 freighters.

[ZOOKER]

Sorry for the confusion. I called a moron alert on the reporter, who should have known with a full fuel load, it’s obvious the plane was taking off and not landing.

[ridesthemiles]

I have known Connie Kalitta for over 40 years.
He has been flying cargo for all of those years and more.
If this “company” has only been formed since 2000, then it is a current incarnation of the original company.
He has been flying cargo and hunters and fishermen for years.
He runs drag racing cars, and was the owner who gave Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney her ride in Top Fuel that vaulted her to national prominence.

Connie is a VERY careful pilot, and his company has a very good record for the number of years he has been flying.

Rent the movie “Heart Like A Wheel” for the Hollywood version of Shirley’s racing story.
When Shirley crashed very badly in Canada, Connie flew her to Indianapolis so she could be under the care of Dr Terry Trammel, who glues Indy 500 drivers back together. If you every have a serious accident involving many bones, that is the Doc you want patching you up.

[Paleo Conservative]

Thanks. Yes, I figured it was probably taking off, since it was full of fuel. It was more of a comment on the typical shoddy reporting than anything else.

I couldn't find a better source that was legal to post at the time I posted. The one I did post was only up 5 minutes before I saw it.

Here's what the Telegraph wrote. It is much better written. Most of the questions on this tread are answered in the first sentence.

Aeroplane splits in half on take-off

By Tom Chivers and agencies
Last updated: 4:41 PM BST 25/05/2008

An aeroplane has crashed on take-off from Belgium and spectacularly split in two.

Four of the cargo plane’s crew were slightly hurt and taken to hospital, according to a spokesman for Brussels Airport.

The large Boeing 747 had attempted to take off for a flight to Bahrain but suffered an unknown problem and crashed at the end of the runway, near railway tracks and some houses.

On impact it split cleanly in two around ten yards behind the cockpit.

"The plane is very seriously damaged," spokesman Jan Van der Cruysse said, with some understatement.

Mercifully the plane did not catch fire, although firefighters coated the wings with a special fire-retardant foam as a precaution, as its fuel tanks were still filled with highly flammable jet fuel.

Rail services to and from the airport have been suspended, but other flights to and from Brussels have not been affected.

Rescue and recovery efforts at the airport are being coordinated by Francis Vermeiren, mayor of the nearby town of Zaventem.

"The plane is not on fire but it has split into two," he told VRT radio.

He said the plane was on a scheduled flight to Bahrain. It was not known what cargo the plane was carrying.

Vermeiren said the pilot told rescue authorities he heard a large noise while trying to take off just after midday. It was not yet clear what caused the crash.

The plane is owned by Kalitta Air, a cargo carrier based at Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, Michigan, and makes regular flights from Brussels, officials said.

A person who answered the telephone at Kalitta Air said Sunday morning that no one was immediately available to comment.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I thought that Belgium has laws against anything interesting happening.

[Paleo Conservative]

I thought that Belgium has laws against anything interesting happening.

But its a pleasant place to drink a beer at a sidewalk cafe.

[CodeToad]

My guess: Improperly loaded aircraft.

[darkwing104]

Somewhere there are a bunch of scared Maintainers....This should of never happened...

[cripplecreek]

Whoa. Cool your jets there Sparky. That's no job for a novice. Let Red show ya how a professional does it.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

"it was full of kerosene, about 100 tonnes of it, and there was a big leakage when it broke," Boileau said.

That has me thinking that it happened during takeoff roll, just a hunch.

[Ditter]

funny picture but we saw first hand what duct tape can do. An Aero Mexico plane had duct tape over the nose of the plane. On our return trip we saw where the nose of the plane had a fresh paint job but you could still see the outlines of the duct tape under it. True story.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Vermeiren said the pilot told rescue authoritieshe heard a large noise while trying to take off just after midday. It was not yet clear what caused the crash.

What might have caused a large noise?

[wolfcreek]

“it was full of kerosene, about 100 tonnes of it”

Kerosene...as in jet fuel?

Is it common for a jet to carry such a payload?

It would make one hell of a suicide missile.

[SkyDancer]

Duct tape and some Bond-O should fix that ....looks like it broke right over the wing box ...wonder what the weight/balance chart looks like for that flight ....

[Paleo Conservative]

Sounds like they’ll need to get another 747-400BCF on order.

[bannie]

dangboyhey!

[cripplecreek]

I don’t doubt it a bit. Duct tape is the pinnacle of human achievement. WD40 comes in second.

[bannie]

We had to emergency land in Belgium back in 1977...in a Chinook. They were wonderful! Gathered up all of the fellers and plyed 'em with great beer for many hours--until another bird was sent for us. Lotsa barfin' drunks on that ride home!

[devane617]

wonder of connie, or doug, was driving?

[Paleo Conservative]

“it was full of kerosene, about 100 tonnes of it”

Kerosene...as in jet fuel?

Is it common for a jet to carry such a payload?

The fuel tanks weren't full. Freighters usually sacrifice range so they can carry more payload. Passenger planes sacrifice payload in order to carry more fuel to get more range.

[bannie]

Back in the '80's, the Army determined that WD-40 was a corrosive.

That was a sad day.