Jumbo Turkish Freighter Slams Into Kyrgyz Village
A Turkish cargo plane crash in Kyrgyzstan killed at least 37 people including all four crew members and at least 33 people on the ground.
BBC reports say the Boeing 747 TC-MCL aircraft operated by ACT Airlines crashed short of Manas airport, 25km (15 miles) north of the capital, Bishkek.
The cargo plane crash destroyed several houses outside the airport.
The Boeing 747 was headed from Hong Kong to Kyrgyzstan’s capital of Bishkek, according to data from the tracking website FlightRadar24.
The plane is believed to have been about 14 years old.
The Aftermath
The plane crash left a trail of destruction and human casualties.
The plane crashed at 7:18 a.m. local time about two kilometers (1.2 miles) away from the airport, injuring at least eight people including children.
Fifteen homes were destroyed in the cargo plane crash.
The number of victims is expected to rise.
Elira Sharipova, a spokeswoman for Kyrgyzstan’s Emergency Ministry told CNN, “The number of victims is increasing quickly. The fire service, rescue services, ministry of internal affairs and the prime minister and emergencies minister are there.”
Possible Factors
ACT Airlines, which operated the plane, confirmed the news of the crash on their website.
Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Muhammetkaly Abulgaziev blamed the crash on “crew error.” Speaking on state TV, the Deputy PM said, “According to preliminary information, the plane crashed due to a pilot error.”
Others said the plane crash was caused by poor visibility.
The latest updates said bad weather and possible ‘crew error’ were possible factors for the Boeing 747 freighter crash Monday in the village near Kyrgyzstan’s capital.
Records of Crashes
The aircraft Boeing 747 has a record of several crashes in the past decade. In 2010 and 2011, on-board fires hit cargo shipments of lithium ion batteries.
In addition, shifting cargo aboard a National Airlines 747 was blamed for a crash in 2012 when the cargo airliner was taking off from Kabul, Afghanistan, killing all seven aboard.
