Yemeni Plane Crashes in Indian Ocean, 150 on Board


Reuters

Moroni, Jun 30: An airliner with 150 people on board belonging to Yemeni state carrier Yemenia crashed into choppy seas as it came in to land on the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros on Tuesday, officials said.

"The plane has crashed and we still don't know exactly where. We think it's in the area of Mitsamiouli. There were 150 passengers on board," Comoros vice-president Idi Nadhoim said from the airport at the main island's capital Moroni.

A Paris airport spokeswoman said a Yemenia flight left Paris on Monday morning before landing in Yemen and then taking off for Moroni.

Ibrahim Kassim, a representative from regional air security body ASECNA, said the plane had probably come down 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 miles) from the coast, and civilian and military boats had been mobilised to start searching.

"We think the crash is somewhere along its landing approach," Kassim said. "The weather is really not very favourable. The sea is very rough."

ASECNA -- the Agency for Aviation Security and Navigation in Africa and Madagascar -- covers Francophone Africa. The town of Mitsamiouli is on the main island Grande Comore. "There is a crash, there is a crash in the sea," said an unnamed official who answered the phone in the Yemenia office in Moroni. He declined further comment. An airline official in Yemen declined to comment.

Coming to Land
 
Interior minister Hamid Bourhane said the army had sent small speedboats to an area between the village of Ntsaoueni and the airport.

"At the moment we don't have any information about whether there are any survivors," he said. A medical worker in Mitsamiouli said he had been called in. "They have just called me to come to the hospital. They said a plane had crashed," he said.

A United Nations official at the airport, who declined to be named, said the control tower had received notification the plane was coming into land, and then lost contact with it. Yemenia, which is 51% owned by the Yemeni government and 49% owned by the Saudi Arabian government, flies to Moroni, according to flight schedules on its website. Yemenia's fleet includes two Airbus 330-200s, four Airbus 310-300s and four Boeing 737-800s, according to the site.

The Comoros covers three small volcanic islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, in the Mozambique channel, 300 km (190 miles) northwest of Madagascar and a similar distance east of the African mainland. A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into the sea off the Comoros islands in 1996, killing 125 of 175 passengers and crew. 

  

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Comment on this article

  • Mohan H Naik, Mangaluru

    Wed, Jul 01 2009

    Air bus has FLY BY WIRE Control System, where as Boeing mostly mechanical/hydraulic assisted, such as pulleys for controls. In former case computer does the job in later Pilot efficiency. Now you decide you trust Pilot more or computers.

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  • Aditya.A., Udipi

    Wed, Jul 01 2009

    keep your faith on god.. whatever is to happen in the hands of god. travel with whatever available transportation either by airbus or boeing whichever is earlier.. go on your way.. rest leave to god..nothing will happen..

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  • emmanuel, Hubli

    Wed, Jul 01 2009

    Now I am out of INDIA, I am planning to go back to INDIA in coming days, but now I am really scared to go by Flight, so I am planning to go by SHIP….and Deep condolence to their families..

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  • Rithesh, mangalore

    Wed, Jul 01 2009

    Its doesnt matters to see the flight you are boarding is a airbus or a boeing..its just that u r checking the bus you are boarding is a tata or leyland..airbus is a french company and is equally popular as boeing,,i think its the problem with maintenance of the aircraft industries..due to global turndown most aircraft industries are suffering loss...this might be a result aircraft are not maintained well these days..hope we never listen more plane crashes..

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  • Ivan, Mangalore/UAE

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    Its sad news that the air buses getting crashed mid air. Most of the crashes are due to technical problems. Can anyone tell what is the difference between boeing n airbus? If boeing is safer than airbus, then why do we have airbus? I believe that once u board a plane,ur life is in gods hands.

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  • Satish, M''lore

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    Travel yourself in longhaul flights between continets or even short distance you can definitely experience the difference between Boeing & Airbus flights. I am sharing with readers my own experience with 150 plus flights across continents. Try Domestic Jet Airways which uses Boeing flights & Kingfisher which uses Airbus. Experience yourself !!!

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  • Jaimini P.B., Manipal,Sharjah

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    If trend of Plane Crash continues like this..only one solution left..GO BY SHIP..no matter,you will reach destination after one month,atleast you are safe.

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  • A.S.Mathew, U.S.A.

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    My deepest condolence to the breaved families. Both of the aircrafts were manufactured by Airbus industries. Air France Airbus 330 had defective "speed sensors" which were frozen, so that the pilot had zero reading of the air speed of the aircraft. The most experienced pilot can''t figure out the speed of the aircraft without a working "speed sensor". He might have put the plane in high speed through the bad weather, so the aircraft might have crashed up in the air due to "metal fatigue".

    Yemeni aircraft with 150 people crashed. This aircraft is 19 years old. Even if an aircraft is new, without proper maintenance and instruments, it can crash at any time. Statistics says that aircrafts owned by poor countries are not properly maintained, so more crashes are reported due to mechanical failures. Some instrumental failures might have been the cause of this crash. Anyway, the Airbus aircrafts are getting a bad reputation due to the recent accidents and the passengers are apprehensive about flying Airbus planes. So, fly Boeing planes for the peace of mind.

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  • Aditya.A., Udipi

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    Hijackers frequently hijacking ''boeings'' rather than ''airbus''..in both there are risk..  Mr.Satish..Mangalore.. it''s afterall one''s fate. .there are incidents.even people will die from banana tree.. and not up above from coconut tree..many crashes even occured in boeings..

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  • shashiprabha, mangalore

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    i thought airbus is the safest means of transport bt hearing diz i felt really sry

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  • Antony Pereira, Bejai, Mangalore

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    Yemeni Airliner with 150 passengers on board crashed into choppy sea while attempting to land on the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros. What a tragedy..!! People prefer to travel by Air as it is the safest mode of transport. But now these international Airliners started crashing one of after another within a span of of one and half months. What are the reasons ? Are they strictly follow international flying regulations & safety measures or violate them and fly?

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  • Nawaz Ahmed, Mangalore

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    Ver sad news.. Deep condolence to their families..

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  • Jawar D''Souza, M''Lore/Doha

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    Very Very sad news aircraft''s were the much safest mode of Transpotation but as of late this seem''s to be a doubt.

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  • v.r.r, mangalore

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    Looks like Death has got more meaning than life these days....some one or the other is dying.harsh reality.

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  • Satish, M''lore

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    Don''t travel by Airbus. Travel by only Boeng. Insist on knowing which flight you will be travelling while booking tickets. This is my personal experience on short & long haul flights. Boeing is more comfortable, less turbulant even in extreme weather conditions. Don''t forget to check which flight you will be flying while booking your tickets. Experience the difference the difference yourself.

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  • Aditya.A., Udipi

    Tue, Jun 30 2009

    what''s happening nowadays towards aviation industry...terrorist attack..technical problems.. etc..difficult to travel..

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse


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