Libyan crash: Rescue operation under way

Mila

Mila

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http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Libyan-crash-Rescue-operation-under-way-20100512

Cairo - A search and rescue operation was under way in the Libyan capital Tripoli following a Libyan Afriqiyah Airways plane crash which killed 104 people on board on Wednesday.

Libyan state television showed footage of a large field scattered with small and large pieces of plane debris and dozens of police and rescue workers with surgical masks and gloves, some of them carrying at least one body away.

Others sifted through the wreckage - some of it still smoldering - including a flight recorder and green seats with television screens on them. A large piece of the plane's tail bearing the Afriqiyah brightly coloured logo on it was visible, and other parts of the plane were in shreds. There was also a burnt, smashed car.

The Airbus A330 arriving from Johannesburg, South Africa was coming in to land when it crashed at around 06:00. There was no immediate word on survivors or the cause, according to a statement by the airlines posted on its website.

"Afriqiyah Airways announces that our flight 771 had an accident during landing at Tripoli International airport," the statement said. "At this moment, we have no information concerning possible casualties or survivors. Our information is that there were 93 passenger and 11 crew aboard. Authorities are conducting the search and rescue mission.

Weather conditions

According to initial reports, the plane crashed as it neared the threshold of Tripoli International's main east-west runway, while preparing to touch down from the east.

Weather conditions over Tripoli's international airport were good on Wednesday, with 4.8km visibility, scattered clouds at 10 000 feet and winds of only three miles per hour.

In Johannesburg, Afriqiyah's office said it was still trying to provide a breakdown of the nationality of passengers. It said the flight 771 left Johannesburg at 01:00 on Wednesday.

In London, a Foreign Office spokesperson said he was aware of unconfirmed reports that there were British Nationals on board the flight. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.

Afriqiyah Airways operates an all Airbus fleet. It started its operations with five leased planes and then signed a contract with the Airbus Company during the Paris Flight Exhibition in 2007 for the purchase of 11 new planes including five Airbus A-320 and six A-350 models in addition to the right to purchase four further types of the same plane.

It was founded in April 2001 and is fully owned by the Libyan government.
Click to expand...
 
The survivor (an eight year old Dutch boy), is in a stable condition at a Tripoli hospital according to the News24 website.
 
Tin Foil Hat Time

I am no accident scene investigator -- so class this just as morbid curiosity

I am unable to understand / correlate the scenes we see in the images of the crash with a description of the accident.

Most planes that crash on approach so close to the runway do not disintegrate into so many small pieces ?
OR
Have I misunderstood everything ?
 
there have been reports that said it exploded on finals. from the video footage the tail is the biggest piece of wreckage, the rest is small bits all over the place.
 
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