ET 409: Report blames pilot error for Ethiopia Airlines crash

The crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane off the coast of Lebanon two years ago which killed all 90 people on board was caused by pilot error, according to a Lebanese report on Tuesday which was challenged by the airline.

The Boeing 737-800 plane, bound for Addis Ababa, crashed minutes after taking off from Beirut in stormy weather on January 25, 2010. (more…)

6 Israeli soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Romania

Six Israeli soldiers and one Romanian were killed Monday when an Israeli military transport helicopter CH-53 crashed in central Romania, local media said, quoting defense sources.

Earlier , the defense ministry said six Israeli soldiers and one Romanian were on board but did not confirm their deaths. (more…)

Over 160 killed in Air India crash

A plane crash in southern India early Saturday has killed more than 160 passengers, an Indian official said.

V.S. Acharya, the home minister of India’s Karnataka state, told CNN-IBN he thought about five or or six people had survived the crash.

The Air India plane was carrying 165 passengers — including four infants — and went down around 6:30 a.m. (9 p.m. ET Friday) near the Mangalore International Airport, CNN’s sister network reported, citing an airline spokesman. (more…)

Plane crash in Libya ‘kills more than 100 on board’

A passenger plane has crashed in Libya, killing more than 100 people on board, officials in the capital Tripoli say.

The Airbus 330 crashed on landing at Tripoli airport after a flight from Johannesburg, Afriqiya Airways said.

Sixty-one Dutch nationals were among the 93 passengers, a Dutch tourism official says. A Dutch boy was the sole known survivor, the Libyans say.

British and South African passengers are also thought to have been on board. The 11 crew were said to be Libyan. (more…)

ET409: Pilot error, inexperience blamed for the crash

The preliminary report on the crash of Ethiopian airliner flight ET409 in Lebanon in which all 90 people on board died earlier this year, indicates that both the pilot’s and co-pilot’s inexperience with the jet was “certainly behind the accident”, according to local reports.

The pilot had one month of experience with the Boeing 737-800 and his co-pilot had four months experience, he added. (more…)

ET409: Hariri to brief families of victims on crash report

Prime Minister Saad Hariri informed ministers that he would brief the families of the victims of the Ethiopian plane crash on the investigative committee’s preliminary report on the incident, Information Minister Tarek Mitri said following the Wednesday meeting of the cabinet.

Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi proposed for ministers relevant to the investigation to prepare a detailed proposal involving financial rewards to employees who took part in rescue operations of the ill-fated Ethiopian plane. (more…)

ET409: Airline accuses authorities of misleading investigation

Ethiopian Airlines chief Girma Wake accused Lebanese authorities on Wednesday of making misleading comments on the cause of the Ethiopian plane’s crash in January. Wake said that his main concern is with “the authorities who come out with guesses every morning,” rather than the investigators. “I am not happy with the way they are handling it,” he added. (more…)

ET409: Ethiopian Airlines defends pilot, blames sabotage

A dispute raged between Ethiopian Airlines and Beirut over the reasons behind last month’s plane crash that killed all 90 people on board. The Boeing 737-800 bound for Addis Ababa crashed minutes after takeoff from Beirut airport in stormy weather on January 25.

“Reports that a pilot error was the cause of the disaster are just a guess,” said Ethiopian Airlines’ executive director.

“Investigations may take a while before the cause of the crash is determined,” he added.

He backed a statement made by Ethiopian Airlines earlier this month in which it did not rule out that “sabotage” may have caused the crash.

Middle East Airlines Chairman of the Board of Directors Mohammed Hout, meanwhile, said a “pilot error” was behind the crash.

“According to reliable information made available (about the disaster), an error by the pilot of the ill-fated Ethiopian plane was the reason that led to the fall and crash,” Hout said in remarks published Tuesday.

State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza is expected to receive a detailed account by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, Lebanese commando divers pursued efforts at retrieving the bodies of the passengers who were aboard the ill-fated Ethiopian airplane. The list of the 90 travelers who are presumed to be dead has shrunk to only three believed to be still missing. (Naharnet)

Small plane crashes into a building in Austin, Texas

A small plane crashed into a seven-story office building in Austin, Texas, on Thursday.
Reports from the scene were sketchy shortly after the crash, but it appeared from televised images that the plane hit the lower floor of the building alongside Highway 183. Damage to the front of the building appeared extensive.
Witnesses told television reporters that they saw a fireball. Firefighters were seen dousing the building as smoke poured into the sky.
The pilot of the plane had set his house on fire beforehand, stole the plane, a Cirrus SR22 single-engine four-seat aircraft, and crashed it intentionally, a federal official told CNN.
Federal officials said two F-16 fighter jets were launched as a precaution after the crash, though terrorist intent was not indicated.AP, CNN

18 killed in Belgian train crash

At least 18 people died and 55 were hurt when two trains collided in Belgium Monday, an official told CNN, adding that the numbers may not be final.
The mayor of Halle, the town where the collision took place, Dirk Pieters, earlier said 20 had died, Belgium’s official news agency reported.
The trains collided head-on at 8:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. ET), the companies that run the Belgian railways and the train said in a statement.
The cause of the accident is not known, railway operator Infrabel and SNCB, the train operator, said. CNN