Nanny

Plane Crash Claims 160

BOGOTA, Colombia -- A chartered jet filled with tourists returning home to the French Caribbean island of Martinique crashed yesterday in western Venezuela, killing all 160 people on board.

The pilot was attempting an emergency landing after both engines failed, officials said.

Wreckage was strewn across a remote wooded area among cattle ranches near Machiques, 650 km west of Caracas.

Rescuers pulled dozens of bodies from the site and recovered one of the plane's black boxes, which could give clues to the cause of the crash. The cockpit voice recorder had not been found.

A spokesman for West Caribbean Airways said the same plane that crashed in Venezuela had dropped its tail cone last month during a flight, but was later repaired.

John Ospina, spokesman for the Medellin-based airline, said the tail-cone incident involving the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 plane happened in early July.

Ospina said the same plane also underwent several hours of repairs while passengers waited to board a domestic flight about two weeks ago.

As the plane developed problems just after 3 a.m., the Colombian pilot radioed to a nearby airport in western Venezuela requesting permission for an emergency landing, saying both engines had failed.

But within 10 minutes, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 fell into a steep descent and broke apart on impact, Venezuelan officials said. Residents reported hearing an explosion.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Calgar...76360-sun.html

Birgerhar

This is terrible. I think people should start thinknig about redesigining the commercial plane.

Leonida

Thats sad. Worse is the plane was obviously not the most stable, as it had had many repairs already

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Yes it is the safest way to travel. Look how many car accidents there are. Its all blown out of proportion.

Nanny

LOL... I know, it was a comical title. I'm just saying, we've had three plane crashes in less than two weeks.

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Yeah I know, I realised that lol.

Britney_03

Millions of ppl fly on a daily basis. Since 9/11 there hadnt been any commercial crashes...they all seem to happen at once.

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Well the result of the Cyprus crash has come out. The loss of cabin pressure and they ran out of fuel

Dirty Drink

c'mon you guys....McDonell Douglas has been non existent for somewhere around 8 years ago when Boeing bought them out...and the plane they talk about is probably another 6-10 years old.... the plane was getting up there agewise and judging by the article it shouldn't have been flying anymore.

and it does seem like all plane crashes happen at once. it's terrible. all's i can do is pray for the families to get better.

but on the good news...boeing is trying to change that with its 787 DreamLiner... safety and longevity.

and yes flying is still by far the safest way to travel...