Hello Peter: Here are some details on that plane crash, from Associated Press:
Angola Cargo Plane Crashes On Homes
By CASIMIRO SIONA Associated Press Writer
LUANDA, Angola (AP) - A burning cargo plane slammed into a shantytown outside Angola's capital today, killing at least 28 people.
The aircraft exploded on impact, demolishing five houses in Casenga, six miles northwest of Luanda's international airport.
Seventeen of the dead had been on the ground.
Civil aviation director Branco Ferreira said the Antonov cargo plane crashed about 30 minutes after taking off on a flight to Lukapa in northeastern Angola. It was returning to Luanda after the crew detected an engine problem.
One engine was on fire as the plane went down, eyewitnesses said.
Hours later, the wreckage was scattered amid shanties made of brick and rusting corrugated iron. Only the plane's tail section was intact.
Rescue teams retrieved the bodies of the four Russian crew members and seven passengers, believed to be Angolans, from the wreckage, as well as 17 people on the ground.
Charred corpses were loaded onto the back of trucks and covered with blankets.
The plane was owned by the private Angolan company SavanAir.
Since 1996, five Russian-built Antonov aircraft have crashed in Angola, killing 39 people. Officials blamed poor maintenance for previous accidents. |
