A Boeing 737 plane carrying 107 passengers and crew en route to the Eastern city of Holguin, crashed moments after takeoff from José Martí de La Habana airport in Havana, Cuba according to local reports. It is unknown if there are any survivors, however the plane appears to be at least partially intact from a photo taken at the scene. Firefighters are working to control the blaze.
Plane crash in Cuba, American flight crashed shortly after take off 😟 #cuba #planecrash pic.twitter.com/W4IuiIaF1K
— Matt Blakeley (@blakeley1990) May 18, 2018
The plane, operated by Cubana de Aviacon “fell” shortly after taking off, crashing near a high school in the Boyeros neighborhood next to the airport.
Cubana de Aviacon has been forced to ground some of its aging fleet over safety issues. On Thursday it was reported that the airline received an order from the Cuban National Aviation Authority to ground its AN-158 fleet over recurring technical issues that could impact flight safety.
The airline operates up to six of the Ukranian aircraft, but the repetition of maintenance issues and unavailability of spare parts forced Cubana to ground most of its fleet months ago. Just one An-158 was still operating as of April 2018.
The official reason cited in the resolution issued by the authority states “multiple and repeating failures have been found in complex systems, built by mechanical, hydraulic and electrical components, as well as computer performance algorithms,” as well as “evidence of design and manufacturing flaws, serious issues in flight control system, cracks in the structure and engine temperature increase above normal parameters.”-airlinegeeks
Developing…
via RSS https://ift.tt/2Gv0FCI Tyler Durden