ISLAMABAD – The year 2016 would be remembered as one of the deadliest years in terms of air crashes, with three fatal mishaps occurring in the month of December alone.
A Russian military plane crashed on its way to Syria on Sunday, with no sign of survivors among the 92 on board. The passengers included dozens of Red Army Choir members who were heading to celebrate the New Year with troops.
The Tu-154 plane crashed in the Black Sea shortly after taking off from the southern city of Adler where it had been refuelling, defence ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agencies.
Last week, an AeroSucre’s flight LMI2933 met a deadly accident near Puerto Carreño, Colombia on December 20.
The aircraft was on a nonscheduled domestic cargo flight from Puerto Carreño to Bogotá, Colombia. Just after takeoff, the aircraft crossed a road that was about 100 meters beyond the end of the runway, apparently hitting at least one fence and dragging the rear part of the aircraft on the ground.
The aircraft became airborne but did not gain a significant amount of altitude. The aircraft was videotaped making a descending right turn just before it crashed and caught fire.
The crash site was about 10 miles from the airport. Five of the six crew members were killed.
On December 7 Pakistan International Airlines’ ATR 42-500 crashed near Havelian, in KP province of Pakistan.
PK-661 was on a scheduled domestic flight from Chitral to Islamabad. While enroute, the crew reported that there was an engine problem and that the aircraft was descending. Shortly afterwards, the crew declared an emergency. The aircraft crashed into a hillside and caught fire. All five crew members and 42 passengers including renowned pop singer-turned-religious scholar Junaid Jamshed were killed.
On November 28, LaMia Avro’s flight LMI2933 with Brazilian football team onboard crashed near La Unión in Colombia.
The aircraft was on a nonscheduled international flight from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia to Medellín, Colombia. On board was Brazilian Chapecoense Football Club, which was scheduled to play in the final of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana in Medellín.
Shortly before landing, the crew declared an emergency, reportedly due to an electrical problem, and the plane crashed into mountainous terrain near Medellín. Seven of the nine crew members and 64 of the 68 passengers were killed in the crash. Apparently, the owner of the airline, who was also a member of the flight crew, was killed in the crash.
On August 3 this year, Emirates’ flight EK521 narrowly escaped disaster as the aircraft with 282 passengers on board caught severe fire at Dubai airport. A firefighter was killed.
The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Thiruvananthapuram, India to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
On May 19 EgyptAir flight MS804 en route Paris to Cairo crashed, 56 passengers and 10 crew members killed.
The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Paris, France to Cairo, Egypt when radar contact was lost. The aircraft was cruising at 37,000 feet and over the eastern Mediterranean Sea north of the Egyptian coast and crashed into the sea. There were no survivors among the 56 passengers and 10 crew members on board. Three of the crew members were reportedly security personnel.
On April 13, Papua New Guinea’s Sunbird Aviation plane crashed.
The aircraft was on an unscheduled domestic scheduled flight from Oksapmin to Kiunga, Papua New Guinean, and crashed near the destination airport shortly before landing, reportedly due to an engine failure. All onboard, including the pilot and 12 passengers, were killed.
On March 19 this year, Fly Dubai’s flight FZ981 crashed, claiming the lives of 62 people on board.
On February 24, Tara Air’s flight 193 met a deadly accident at Dana, Nepal.
The aircraft was on a domestic scheduled flight from Pokhara to Jomsom Airport and crashed while en route to its destination. All three crew members and 20 passengers were killed.-Online
