Algeria suffered its deadliest ever air catastrophe on Wednesday (Apr 11) when a military plane crashed after takeoff, killing 257 people on board, mostly army personnel and their family members. Algerian soldiers watch the military plane after it crashed in Boufarik, near the Algerian capital, Algiers on Apr 11, 2018. (Photo source: AP/Anis Belghoul) An AFP photographer at the scene saw the charred wreckage of the plane after it caught fire in a field near the Boufarik airbase, 30 kilometres south of Algiers. Hundreds of ambulances and dozens of fire trucks with sirens wailing rushed to the scene of the crash, in an uninhabited area where one person was injured on the ground by debris. Firefighters extinguished the blaze and security forces set up a cordon to prevent journalists and onlookers from approaching. Witnesses who had been working in nearby fields told AFP that the plane had burst into flames before it hit the ground. The defence ministry said in a statement that … [Read more...] about 257 dead as military plane crashes in Algeria’s worst air disaster
Air disasters
Russia’s Lokomotiv ice hockey team in air disaster
A chartered jet carrying Russia's major league ice hockey team Lokomotiv has crashed on take-off near the central city of Yaroslavl, with 43 deaths. Two people survived with serious injuries after the disaster, which saw the jet burst into flames shortly after leaving an airport near the city. It appears many of the team were aboard, heading to Belarus for the season's first match. Russian reports suggest the Yak-42 plane may have struck a radio mast. Witnesses saw it burst into flames shortly after taking off from the Tunoshna airport, about 250km (160 miles) north-east of Moscow. Some of the wreckage and bodies fell in the nearby River Tunoshna, a tributary of the Volga. All 11 foreign citizens on board the plane were killed, including the team's Canadian coach, Brad McCrimmon, and Swedish goalie Stefan Liv. Russian player Alexander Galimov survived the crash with 80% burns along with a member of the crew. Local media briefly reported the player had died of … [Read more...] about Russia’s Lokomotiv ice hockey team in air disaster
Another Malaysia-linked plane disappearance spooks air travellers
What appears to be a third air disaster involving a Malaysian carrier in less than a year has further dented confidence in the country's aviation industry and spooked air travellers across the region. A plane belonging to Indonesia AirAsia, 49 percent owned by Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia, vanished on Sunday on a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore. There were 162 people on board Flight QZ8501, which is presumed to have crashed at sea. Malaysia's only other airline, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) , was involved in twin air disasters this year with flight MH370 disappearing over the southern Indian Ocean in March and MH17 being shot down over Ukraine a few months later. Many travellers have been apprehensive about using Malaysia Airlines over fears that the company was "cursed", and now people are expressing concerns about AirAsia. "This is a bit unsettling, because of how many times it's happened to us. It looks like a Malaysia problem now," said Daniel … [Read more...] about Another Malaysia-linked plane disappearance spooks air travellers
Air Algerie plane with over 110 on board missing over Mali
An Air Algerie plane with more than 110 people on board including French and Spanish nationals went missing Thursday during a flight from Burkina Faso to Algiers, company sources and officials said. A Swiftair MD-83 airplane is seen in this undated photo. Authorities have lost contact with an Air Algerie flight en route from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso to Algiers with 110 passengers on board, Algeria's APS state news agency and a Spanish airline company said on Thursday. … [Read more...] about Air Algerie plane with over 110 on board missing over Mali
Around 200 feared dead in Brazil air disaster
A Brazilian airliner crashed and exploded in flames on Tuesday at Brazil's busiest airport, and around 200 people were feared dead in the country's second major air disaster in less than a year. Rescue crews pulled 45 bodies from the wreckage and said none of the 176 people on board the Airbus A320 could have survived. One rescue crew leader said as many as 200 people may have died, including casualties on the ground, the Folha news agency reported. The plane, flying from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, lost control on landing at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport, which is known for slippery runways and has become a symbol of the country's chaotic air transport system. … [Read more...] about Around 200 feared dead in Brazil air disaster