by Tolkun Namatbayeva 1 hour, 10 minutes ago
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AFP) - A passenger plane bound for Iran crashed shortly after take-off from the Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishkek on Sunday, claiming the lives of 65 people onboard, the health ministry said.
The Boeing-737 with 90 people onboard went down a few kilometres (miles) from Bishkek's Manas airport when the plane suffered a dramatic loss of cabin pressure, said Prime Minister Igor Chudinov.
"Sixty-five passengers were killed, 22 injured and three are missing," health ministry spokeswoman Yelena Bayalinova told AFP. She had earlier given a toll of 71 dead. The plane was owned by Itek Air, a private Kyrgyz company, that is on the European Union blacklist of airlines banned from flying in EU airspace.
Chudinov said all seven crew members were among the survivors of the crash, the worst in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan since the Central Asian state gained independence.
"The plane took off and then it lost pressure," Chudinov told reporters. It was bound for Tehran, according to airport officials.
The pilot made an emergency landing in a field not far from the runway and the plane caught fire, he said.
Civil aviation officials said it went down at around 8:40 pm (1440 GMT), just 10 minutes after take-off.
Kyrgyz reporters on the scene said body parts were strewn across a large area surrounding the plane wreckage.
There were 51 foreigners among the passengers, including Iranian, Turkish, Chinese and Canadian nationals, according to the prime minister.
It was the worst plane crash in recent history in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic that also boasts Central's Asia biggest and most modern airport.
Rescue teams and firefighters were dispatched to the crash site near the village of Dzhany-Dzher where the plane was engulfed in flames, officials said.
US military officials at a nearby base sent firefighters and medical staff to the scene, said Aygul Karemshakova, a press spokeswoman for the US base in Kyrgyzstan.
The prime minister said the plane had no known safety problems.
"The Boeing was produced in 1979, was in good condition, was checked a month ago and had an extended warranty," he said.
Iran's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan visited the injured at Bishkek hospitals as rescuers continued a frantic search for survivors under the cover of darkness.
"Mostly the passengers have combined injuries -- burns, broken bones and bumps," a doctor at Bishkek hospital said.
There were reports that the plane was owned by the Iranian company Aseman and leased to Itek Air, but a spokesman for the national aviation agency in Tehran denied the information.
"The plane belongs to Kyrgyz airlines," said Reza Jafarzadeh, spokesman for the agency, the official Irna news agency reported.
A Spanair flight bound for the Canary Islands crashed in Madrid on August 21, killing 154 people.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080824/ts_afp/kyrgyzstanairaccidentiran_080824202332
¨A Spanair flight bound for the Canary Islands crashed in Madrid on August 21, killing 154 people.¨
You know the old saying...Airline accidents happen in three. One more to go.
Strategic Forecasting, Inc.
AIRLINE ANOMALIES
Summary
A number of strange events — each in and of itself unremarkable — have followed the crash of Spanair flight JK5022 on Aug. 20. Though we do not attempt to draw any conclusions from these string of events, the anomalous nature of these incidents is noteworthy.
Analysis
A number of aviation incidents around the world over the weekend have piqued our attention, though at this point no conclusions can be drawn from the available information.
It seems to have begun with the Aug. 20 crash of Spanair flight JK5022. Heading toward the Canary Islands, the flight originated from Spain’s busiest airport, Barajas Airport, located in Madrid. The first attempt at takeoff was aborted and a technical problem kept the plane on the ground for some two additional hours. On its second attempt, the MD-82 reportedly experienced an explosion or a fire of some sort (likely with one of its engines) during its takeoff run at around 2:45 p.m. local time. Though reports suggest the aircraft did get airborne, it soon slammed into the ground and ended up in a gully near the runway. More than 150 people — including the vast majority of passengers and crew — were killed.
While an investigation is currently underway, the MD-80 series (which includes the MD-82) is a widely used and well regarded aircraft with a fairly good safety record. Both Spanish and American investigators are involved in the investigation process.
Though the crash is obviously tragic, it did not seem connected to some larger issue regarding global civil aviation even though less than two weeks prior, a South Korean man made a bomb threat against an Air China flight from Japan only hours before the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics began in Beijing. The man has already confessed and is currently in custody.
Regardless of whether they are — or are not — connected, a number of incidents over the weekend have caught our attention:
Aug. 23 — Swiss International Airlines flight LX2114 was diverted to Geneva while en route from Zurich to Malaga after a bomb threat. No explosives were found aboard.
Aug. 23 — Virgin Atlantic flight VS029, a Boeing 747, returned to Gatwick only an hour after departing for Barbados. The pilot reportedly took precautionary measures after a technical difficulty was encountered. Virgin has denied that any emergency occurred.
Aug. 24 — Spanair flight JK2565, another Spanair MD-82 also headed to the Canary Islands, was forced to land at Malaga when it encountered a technical problem in flight after leaving Barcelona.
Aug. 24 — An as yet unidentified Kyrgyz Boeing 737 heading for Tehran from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan crashed as it was attempting to turn back to Manas International Airport after encountering a technical problem shortly after takeoff. The plane was reportedly owned by the Kyrgyz Itek Air but was being operated by Iran Aseman Airlines. Manas is also a military airbase used by U.S. forces. Though details remain cloudy at this point, as many as a third of the passengers may have survived.
In addition, Qantas Airways Ltd. experienced a number of odd incidents with its aircraft a week ago — from a rudder issue to an issue with toilets — since a decompression incident forced a Qantas 747 to make an emergency landing on July 25.
Of the incidents mentioned, the aircraft, airlines and geography (both origin and destination) involved are all too broad to delineate a pattern beyond the Europe-to-Caribbean flights. Passenger manifest information is currently too limited to suggest connections among possible targets. Though the overall fiscal crunch on airlines in the last few years has led to streamline attempts and maintenance cuts, we attempt to draw no conclusions there either.
But in intelligence it is essential to recognize anomalous events or series of events and even if this particular block of incidents is nothing more than an unfortunate (and in some cases tragic) five days for global civil aviation, it bears mention.
“...and had an extended warranty...”
Lot of good that did. Now I’m glad I never bought one for my ten-year-old truck.