Passenger plane crashes in Cuba (68 on-board, including 28 foreigners)

[Turborama]

Source: BBC



A Cuban passenger plane has crashed in the centre of the country with more than 60 people on board, Cuban state TV reports.

The report says the aircraft, belonging to the state-run Aero Caribbean airline, was flying from the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba to the capital Havana.

It says 28 foreigners were among the passengers.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11700265

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Cuban TV says airline crashes with 68 aboard

(AP) – 9 minutes ago

HAVANA — Cuba's state television says a passenger plane flying from the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba to Havana has crashed with 69 people aboard — including 28 foreigners.

There is no immediate word whether there are survivors from Thursday's crash.

State TV says the AeroCaribbean flight went down near the village of Guasimal in the area of Sancti Spiritus, carrying 61 passengers and a crew of seven. The report says 28 of the passengers were foreigners, but there is no breakdown of nationalities.

From: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hm9fX3U7KFQFanXWbWFkYqp3RBuw?docId=7d5e1c90279149efa544537a7e5a0e56

[Taverner]

1. I hope no one got hurt

Or if anyone got hurt, no one died

[applegrove]

2. vibes to them and their families.

[Oldtimeralso]

3. Google now says "No Survivors"

Of the 28 foreign passengers there were no Americans.

[dipsydoodle]

4. How sad for the tourists and the locals too.

A Civil Aviation Authority statement said the foreigners on the passenger list included nine Argentines, seven Mexicans, three Dutch citizens, two Germans, two Austrians, a French citizen, an Italian, a Spaniard, a Venezuelan and a Japanese citizen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11700265

I flew back from Holquin to Havana in this one last week : I think that's same the plane type : French ATR twin turboprop.

Overall Cuba appears to have a pretty good record of very few air accidents.

[pampango]

5. Particularly since the late '90's their record does seem pretty good.

The following is a brief list of Cuban plane crashes:

March 14, 2002 - A small Cuban tourist plane, a single-engine Russian Antonov-2, crashes into a reservoir in central Villa Clara province, killing all 16 people on board, including Canadian, British and German tourists.

December 25, 1999 - A Russian-made Cubana de Aviacion jet crashes while approaching landing near the Venezuelan city of Valencia, killing all 22 people on board, according to Venezuelan authorities.

December 21, 1999 - A Cubana DC-10 jet skids off the runway at Guatemala City's airport and slams into houses. Guatemala says 26 people were killed but Cuba puts the death toll at 18. Pilot error is blamed.

August 29, 1998 - A Russian-made Tupolev of Cubana goes off the runway and explodes during an attempted takeoff from Quito airport in Ecuador, killing 81 people. Investigators blame human error.

July 11, 1997 - A Soviet-built twin-engined Antonov-24 suffers engine failure shortly after takeoff from the eastern Cuban city of Santiago de Cuba and plunges into the sea, killing all 44 people on board, including six Spaniards and two Brazilians.

September 3, 1989 - In the worst Cubana disaster, a Soviet-made Ilyushin-62M passenger plane crashes near Havana after taking off for Italy, killing all 126 people on board.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A40KX20101105

Sounds like Cubana de Aviacion uses mostly Russian-made planes partially due to the American embargo and other financial reasons.

"Cubana's long-term renovation strategy is based on the purchase of new Russian-built aircraft. Although the airline's long-standing experience with Soviet-built aircraft may play a role in this strategy, the most important factor seems to be the financing provided by aircraft companies such as Ilyushin and Tupolev, with the assistance of the Russian government. The efficiency and performance of the most modern Russian aircraft, such as the IL-96 and TU-204, compare well with aircraft built by Airbus and Boeing. The much lower purchase price of Russian aircraft makes them attractive to government-owned airlines with limited financial resources. And, the Russian government's eagerness to strengthen what remains of its aircraft industry has undoubtedly also played a part in the financing of new aircraft to Cubana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Cubana_de_Aviaci%C3%B3n

While Aeroflot's (the main Russian airline) uses only 6 Russian-made planes in their fleet of 93 (76 Airbus, 11 Boeing) - a big change since their fleet was totally Russian-made until 1992.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot

[Baclava]

6. Last flight out before the hurricane hits?

[Blue_Tires]

7. ATR 72-212

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATR_72

[Billy Burnett]

8. Luis Posada's or Orlando Bosch's handy work?

Both are wanted for murder in Cuba and Venezuela. The goal of their mid-air bombing of Air Cubana flight 455, and their other acts of murderous terrorism, is to discourage tourism in Cuba.

Hate to insert this here, but NEVER discount the work of these US/CIA "freedom fighters" and their Miami based terra minions.