Beirut - The serial number of a Boeing 727 that crashed on December 25 in Benin killing 141 passengers may have been altered, Lebanese state prosecutor Adnan Adoum said on Thursday.
The change possibly was made to disguise the plane as one with approval to land in Lebanon, the destination of the doomed flight, Adoum said. The serial number pulled from the wreck was identical with another aircraft, he told reporters.
The charter flight, with many Lebanese aboard, never should have landed in Benin, according to Adoum. An agreement with the plane's owner barred landings in Benin, he said. The flight originated in Guinea and was bound for Beirut.
The aircraft, operated by Union des Transports Africains, was registered in Guinea and had two major Lebanese shareholders.
Overloading has been cited as the probable reason why the plane failed to gain altitude upon taking off, shearing through an airport building near the capital city of Cotonou and plunging into the Gulf of Guinea. - Sapa-dpa
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I was going to comment, but I'll think I'll wait to find out if it is really true as my blood is boiling
