EgyptAirCrash

[Kuntrol_Freek]

EgyptAir aircraft reported crashed in Tunisia...no details available yet.

[con-pilot]

CNN just reported that a Egyptian Airlines aircraft has crashed.

Anybody know more?

[ajamieson]

1 AIR Tunisia 16:41
AIRLINER CRASHES NEAR TUNISIAN CAPITAL
An EgyptAir plane crashed near Tunis today, the national Tunisian news agency reported.
The report said the aircraft crashed soon after take-off, about four miles from the Tunis-Carthage airport.
The control tower in the Tunisian capital lost contact with the plane a few seconds earlier, just after a distress call from the pilot, the report said.
The report did not say what type of plane had crashed, or how many people were on board.
Weather was foggy and rainy at the time, with sandy wind conditions.
AP
Editors:mfl

[Lucifer]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1973000/1973452.stm

[gyrohead]

:( Normally a 737-500 on that route!

[btmtdi]

737-500 on the Friday flight

A320 on the Tuesday flight - Usual time of departure 14:00 BST - so it looks like that one.

[Lucifer]

According to CNN, yes it is a 737-500.

http://europe.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/05/07/tunis.crash/index.html

60 on board and some possible survivors

[btmtdi]

According to CNN it is an 'Airbus 737-500' !!!!!!

[ajamieson]

Eds: 2nd lead, adds background
Some passengers survive EgyptAir crash in Tunis
TUNIS, May 7 (Reuters) – At least some passengers survived when an EgyptAir plane from Cairo slammed into a Tunis hillside on Tuesday, a government official said.
“Some of the passengers are alive. I do not know how many,” a senior government official told Reuters.
Another source said about 20 passengers survived the crash.
“My understanding from various sources is that the EgyptAir airliner is a Boeing 737 and that it was carrying 55 passengers,” he said.
REUTERS
mfl

[Angel`s Playmate]

Just came back from Monastir(MIR)-Tunisia, and the weather was really lousy! Strong winds, +RA ,vis about 5KM BLDU !

Might have been a factor !

Condolences to all involved .

[ajamieson]

(Reopens)
CNN reported the Boeing 737 with a crew of five and more than 50 passengers, had made an emergency landing and had not crashed. No one had been killed, according to an EgyptAir official.
PA(AP)
mfl

[LatviaCalling]

I understand from sources that CNN is back-paddling as fast as possible from their original crash story. Latest is that it was a "forced" landing and that nobody was killed, but that's at this moment.

[ajamieson]

par parf parp parj 222 08 intjw
URGENT
Plane crashes in Tunisia, reports say up to 15 dead
Eds: UPDATES with airline official saying it was not an emergency landing; raises conflicting details
By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA
Associated Press Writer
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) – An EgyptAir plane with 55 people aboard crashed Tuesday while trying to land near Tunis in bad weather. Egyptian officials said there were at least 15 deaths, while the national news agency put the death toll at five.
Viewed from a distance, the plane, a Boeing 737, was resting on a hill in the area of a park about six kilometers (four miles) from the Tunis-Carthage airport, and black smoke was rising from the site. Ambulances rushed to the scene.
The control tower had lost contact with the plane a few seconds before the crash, just after a distress call from the pilot, according to the national news agency, TAP.
Egyptian officials in Tunis, speaking on Egyptian state TV, said there were 15 or 16 deaths and said the plane has been attempting an emergency landing. TAP said there were at least five deaths, with a number of wounded, 27 of which had already been evacuated. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the reports.
EgyptAir’s vice president for safety, Shaker Qilada, said a total of 55 people were aboard the plane, which originated in Cairo, and that there were survivors. He denied reports that the plane was making an emergency landing.
“It was not an emergency landing,” Qilada told The Associated Press in Cairo. “It was a normal landing approach.”
“We have spoken to people on board” since the crash, he added.
Weather was foggy and rainy at the time, with a sandy wind, called the “khamsin,” blowing from the Sahara desert.
On Oct. 31, 1999, an EgyptAir Boeing 767 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, killing all 217 people aboard.
Before 1999, it had been 23 years since EgyptAir had a major crash. In 1976, an EgyptAir plane crashed during approach to the Bangkok, Thailand airport, killing 72 passengers and crew members. In 1985, Egyptian troops stormed an EgyptAir plane being held by hijackers in Malta. Sixty passengers and crew were killed.
(parf-bou-ps-jn)
071704 may 02GMT

[Benjurs]

It definately went down, as I've just seen the footage on MSNBC over here in the US. Looks like a 737. No news on casualties other than the 15 deceased. Lets hope that's a final figure!

[ramsrc]

At least 20 die in Tunis plane crash (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/020508/80/cyhdd.html)

The death toll is currently reported as at least 20 people of 62 on board.

Just one question. How do you "dump a fuel tank"?

[Flap 5]

The article says that the pilot 'ejected the fuel tank'!? He would have to chop it's wings off to do that. Another case of poor reporting. Furthermore the 737 is not equipped to dump fuel.

[Superpilut]

Hmm, dumping the jerrycans with extra fuel out of the cockpit or something?
How come they came down while having a landinggear problem??
Or was it fuel starvation?
Strange accident. Too sad it happened...

[Blacksheep]

Saw film from the site on TV News, you can see the runway in the distance and the aircraft hit what looks like high ground in-line with the runway. The casualties were said to be mostly from the severely damaged rear of the aircraft, with survivors including the pilot, from the front. [A bit like the recent accident in Korea?] Seems to have been a tail down impact onto rising ground in the approach... Bad weather involved - windshear perhaps? They have the recorders anyway...

**************************
Through difficulties to the cinema

[Bus429]

Another sad event. Apparently, the largest single cause of accidents is CFIT. Of those, most are as a result of landing short. I'm not suggesting this was the cause of this tragedy. Shame.

[mutt]

I was watching NBC news last night as this happened; the anchorperson was speaking to their reporter in Tunisia. The reporter stated that the co-pilot and crew were killed. She repeated this statement about 3 times.

The anchor turned this around and started saying that the Captain, Co-pilot and crew were killed, this statement then appeared in the next headlines.

Don’t these people have an obligation to get ANYTHING right???

Mutt.

[boiler]

There are stories comming out that this particular plane had several technical problems in the past few weeks and with the fuel system in particular (no specifics given). Anyone heard anything to this effect?

[CoodaShooda]

Mutt

It gets better downunder. Our morning TV news reported the crash was caused by "problems with the undercarriage".

Still trying to work it out - but I think they meant the a/c had performed a missed approach due to reported u/c problems and was on the second approach when it hit the hill.

Condolences to all affected.

[MrNosy]

From my poor French, today's Le Renouveau newspaper seems to be quoting the Tunis Minister of Transport as saying that the aircraft had a1,700ft per min rate of descent prior to impact and, not suprisingly, said that this finding was very important. There was no distress call and the aircraft was in landing config at impact. The aircraft was reportedly making an (ILS?) approach to Runway 11.

Has anyone got a copy of the weather at or close to the time of the crash (1417Z) and the height of the ridge the aircraft hit.

[Algy]

DTTA 071500Z 09027G40KT 3000 -RA SCT012 FEW023CB BKN026 17/17 Q1001 RMK CB/N/NE