Delta Air Lines Flight 191

Date: August 2, 1985
Type: Microburst-induced wind shear
Site: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Texas
Passengers: 152
Crew: 11
Injuries: 27
Fatalities: 135 (1 on the ground)
Survivors: 27
Aircraft type: Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar
Operator: Delta Air Lines
Tail number: N726DA
Flight origin: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
Stopover: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
Destination: Los Angeles International Airport

Pilot of Hudson collision plane chose river route

By TOM HAYS and VICTOR EPSTEIN, Associated Press Writers 

It was easy banter about which route the pilot of a Piper airplane would take through the busy airspace over New York's Hudson River. The air traffic controller at Teterboro Airport gave him two choices: Head down the river, or take a southwest tack.

The pilot chose the river route, and shortly afterward the small aircraft carrying three family members clipped a sightseeing helicopter carrying a pilot and five Italian tourists. Both aircraft plunged into the river. Nine people died.

On Tuesday, divers are expected to go back into the challenging waters of the Hudson to search for the ninth body. Seven victims have been removed from the murky water, and divers found the eighth on Monday when they located the wreckage of the Piper. They were unable to remove the body and late Monday afternoon called off the effort until morning.

Police were consulting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about trying to pull the plane to the surface of the river, which is less than three-quarters of a mile wide at the crash site between New York and New Jersey. The wrecked helicopter was raised from the river Sunday.

Air traffic control transcripts described Monday indicate a worry-free exchange between controllers at Teterboro, in New Jersey, and Steven Altman, who was told he could pick his flight path toward Ocean City, where he was flying after picking up his brother Daniel Altman and teenage nephew Douglas Altman.

When a Teterboro controller asked the pilot if he wanted to go down the river or head southwest, he responded by saying: "Either."

"Let me know," the controller said.

"OK, tell you what," Altman replied, "I'll take down the river."

National Transportation Safety Board chief Debbie Hersman said air traffic controllers at Teterboro at some point told Altman to switch radio frequencies so controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport could communicate with him. Newark controllers never made contact, she said.

New York Police Department divers found the wreckage of the single-engine Piper in about 60 feet of water in the middle of the river, indicating it had drifted from the spot where it crashed, closer to New Jersey's riverbank, police said. It was on its side with no wings visible.

The divers couldn't remove the man's body from the aircraft wreckage on Monday.

All seven of the victims whose bodies were recovered have been positively identified through dental records and fingerprints, the New York medical examiner's office said. Autopsies found they died from blunt-impact injuries.

The collision at around noon on a sunny Saturday occurred in a congested flyway popular with sightseers. Hersman said an eight-day NTSB survey of the river corridor before the collision had counted about 225 aircraft flying within a 3-mile radius of the collision site each day.

Many of these tour craft fly below 1,100 feet, where pilots are largely free to choose their own routes, radioing their positions periodically but not communicating regularly with air traffic controllers.

The NTSB has issued at least 14 safety recommendations — 12 for collision avoidance — for flight in congested areas across the country, and more than 50 for the operation of air tours, Hersman said.

Italian Ambassador Giovanni Castellaneta said he had met with the medical examiner in New York and with relatives of the five Italian victims.

"Today the relatives were asking me, 'How it can be that a holiday in New York can become such a tragedy?'" Castellaneta said in Italian.

About a half-dozen relatives of the Italians were still in New York waiting to return home with their loved ones' remains. A group of 10 tourists traveled from Italy, two of them to celebrate a 25th wedding anniversary.

"They are destroyed by pain," Castellaneta said.

The NTSB has declined to speculate about the cause of the crash. The agency's investigation is expected to take months.

The helicopter had just taken off from Manhattan's West Side for a 12-minute tour. Witnesses said the small plane approached the helicopter from behind and clipped it with a wing. Hersman said the helicopter was gaining altitude when the two aircraft collided.

Both aircraft split and fell into the river, scattering debris and sending weekenders enjoying the beautiful day on the New Jersey side of the river running for cover.

___

Hays reported from New York. Associated Press writers Sara Kugler and Maria Sanminiatelli in New York and Geoff Mulvihill and Samantha Henry in Hoboken, N.J., also contributed to this report.

Plane carrying 13 missing in Papua New Guinea

By KRISTEN GELINEAU, Associated Press Writer 

A charter plane carrying 13 people to a popular tourist site in Papua New Guinea vanished on approach in bad weather to an airport nestled in rugged terrain on Tuesday. Australia's foreign minister said a "possible crash site" may have been found.

The twin-engine plane left the capital of Port Moresby en route to an airport near the country's Kokoda Track, a mountainous 60-mile (100-kilometer) trail. The plane's crew radioed air traffic controllers as it was approaching the airstrip, but the aircraft never landed, said Allen Tyson, a spokesman for Airlines PNG.

A search and rescue mission was immediately launched, Tyson said. The plane, carrying 11 passengers, including nine Australians, and two crew, had an emergency locator beacon, but it was not transmitting, he said.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told reporters in Canberra that a helicopter searching for the plane had landed in a village thought to be near a "possible crash site" Tuesday night.

"I say a 'possible crash site' because PNG authorities, PNG Airlines and Australian officials are relying on information relayed by villagers on the ground," Smith said.

Efforts to locate the plane were being hampered by bad weather, low visibility and rugged terrain in the mountainous region.

"We hope, weather permitting, that a substantially enhanced search and rescue effort can commence tomorrow morning," Smith said.

The Kokoda Track is a popular tourist destination for Australians. On board the plane were eight Australian tourists and an Australian tour guide planning to walk the trail as part of a trek organized by the adventure tour company No Roads Expeditions, the company said in a statement. Another guide from Papua New Guinea was also on board, the company said.

"We hold grave concerns for their safety and well-being," Smith said.

The Australian High Commission in Port Moresby was working with authorities in the Pacific island nation to determine what happened, Smith said. Searchers were also checking other small airstrips in the area to see if the plane may have landed elsewhere.

Air France Flight 447 Body (Tail Section) Found

Photo credit: Associated Press

Fifteen more bodies from Air France Flight 447 crash pulled from water

Brazilian military recovery operations collecting a piece of debris from Air France flight 447.

Air France Flight 447 Crash Cronology

• 01:48 -- Brazilian Air Force has last radar contact. Plane appears to be flying normally.
• 02:00 -- Aircraft hits a zone of stormy weather with strong turbulence. The pilot sends a manual signal indicating that he is flying through an area of "CBs" - black, electrically charged cumulonimbus clouds that come with violent winds and lightning.
• 02:10 -- Problems mount. The autopilot is disengaged, a key computer system is switched to alternative power and controls needed to keep the plane stable have been damaged, according to automatic messages. An alarm sounds, indicating that flight systems are deteriorating.
• 02:13 -- Automatic messages report the failure of systems to monitor air speed, altitude and direction. Control of the main flight computer and wing spoilers fail.
• 02:14 -- An automatic message was received from the aircraft as indicating a loss of cabin pressure and failure in the electric circuit. The plane is a long way from the coast. It is believed to be breaking up at this moment.
• 02:20 -- Plane fails to make previously scheduled radio contact with Brazil. Brazil notifies air traffic control in Dakar, Senegal.
  
  

Air France Flight 447 Victims Evacuation

The Brazilian Air Force transports a corpse from a chopper at the Fernando de Noronha airport on June 9. The helicopter carried the first human remains recovered from the downed jet. (EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images)

Brazilians Recover Tail Section of Lost Airbus

In this photo released by Brazil's Air Force, Brazilian sailors recover the tail section belonging to Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday. (Brazil's Air Force/Associated Press)

Total of 41 bodies recovered from Air France 447 crash

FERNANDO DE NORONHA, Brazil (CNN) -- Forty-one bodies have been recovered from the crash of Air France Flight 447, the Brazilian Navy Command and Aeronautical Command said Tuesday.
Sixteen bodies pulled from the Atlantic Ocean Tuesday were taken to Fernando de Noronha for transportation Wednesday afternoon by helicopter to the air base in Recife, Brazil.

The 25 bodies previously found were put aboard a Brazilian frigate.

Searches for the remaining bodies will continue overnight, the navy and aeronautical command said in a written statement.

The Airbus A330 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean June 1 en route from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France, carrying 228 passengers and crew.

The first bodies were recovered about 320 kilometers (200 miles) northwest of the Brazilian archipelago of Saint Peter and Saint Paul; Tuesday's recoveries were 80 kilometers (50 miles) away. It was not clear whether the bodies had drifted in the 1-2 knot currents or whether their separation suggested that the jet may have broken apart in the air. Watch bodies being returned to land »

Meanwhile, the French, who are leading the investigation, were increasing their naval efforts. The nuclear submarine Emeraude was expected to reach the search area Wednesday to search for wreckage, including the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. And the French sent two tugs towing 40 tons of recovery equipment, a surveillance ship and a ship equipped for amphibious operations.

The United States is also sending equipment to help with the search. Watch challenges faced by search crews »

Brazilian authorities said the plane debris will be taken to France for investigation but the bodies would undergo forensic tests in Recife.

The cause of the crash is not known, but investigators are looking at the possible role of airspeed sensors known as Pitot tubes, among other factors.

Air France has agreed to replace the sensors on its Airbus A330 and A340 jets, a pilots' union said Tuesday.

The airline said Saturday that it began replacing its fleet's sensors last month.

Another Air France pilots' union, ALTER, has advised its pilots not to fly planes until their Pitot tubes are replaced. ALTER, the smallest of three Air France pilots' unions, would not say what percentage of the carrier's pilots it represents. Watch an explanation of what could have caused the crash »

The biggest union, SNPL, said Tuesday it has accepted Air France's assurances that no Airbus A330 or A340 will take off unless at least two of its three Pitot tubes have been replaced.

Union spokesman Eric Derivry added that there is no indication that the Pitot tubes caused the accident.

Air France said over the weekend that it began to notice in May of last year that Pitot tubes sometimes briefly iced up at high altitude on A330s and A340s. That caused "a loss of airspeed data," according to the airline -- that is, the pilots didn't know the plane's speed.

Air France decided to replace all its probes starting April 27, following laboratory tests earlier in the year, the airline said. That is the program the pilots say the airline has promised to complete within days.

The location of the crash has not been determined, because ocean currents have moved the bodies and debris. Map of Flight 447's flight path »

The ocean depth where the debris and bodies have been found varies, but averages about 3,000 meters (nearly 9,900 feet) deep, according to the University of New Hampshire/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Joint Hydrographic Center. The search area covers 200,000 square km (77,220 square miles), nearly the size of Romania, Brazilian officials said.

Brazilian officials emphasized Monday that finding bodies was their main priority. The French are in charge of finding the voice and data recorders.

Fourteen aircraft -- 12 Brazilian and two French -- were participating, along with five Brazilian ships and one French frigate. The U.S. Navy will contribute two high-tech acoustic devices to listen underwater for the emergency beacons that are attached to the voice and data recorders.
The "towed pinger locators," which help search for emergency beacons on downed aircraft to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet -- will be placed aboard two French tugs that are part of the search efforts, the official said.

CNN's Karl Penhaul, Ayesha Durgahee, Niki Cook, Jim Bittermann and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

Major airline crashes in Indonesia in recent years

The Associated Press , Jakarta | Thu, 05/21/2009 8:45 AM | National 

Some of the deadliest military and commercial airline crashes in Indonesia in recent years: 

- June 8: NB0-105 military helicopter military crashes in Situhiang village, South Cianjur, West Java, killing three officers and injuring the other three.

- May 20: A C-130 Hercules military plane carrying troops and their families crashes in Magetan, East Java province, killing 98 people. 

- April 6: A Fokker 27 military aircraft slams into an airport hangar in the city of Bandung, West Java, killing 24. 

- March 7, 2007: A Boeing 737 jet operated by national airline Garuda shoots off a runway and erupts in flames in Yogyakarta, killing 21 people. 

- Jan. 1, 2007: A plane belonging to budget airline Adam Air plunges into the sea off Sulawesi in stormy weather, killing all 102 onboard. 

- Sept. 5, 2005: A Mandala Airlines Boeing 737-200 crashes shortly after takeoff from Medan, North Sumatra, killing at least 145.

Chopper crash adds to TNI accidents

Yuli Tri Suwarni , The Jakarta Post , Bandung | Tue, 06/09/2009 10:02 AM | Headlines 

Bad weather was believed to have caused the crash of an Indonesian Army helicopter in West Java province on Monday, the sixth military aircraft accident this year. 

Three of its five crew and passengers died in the accident in the Cianjur regency, the latest tragedy to hit the Indonesian Military (TNI). 

Heavy rains in the area at about 2 p.m. seemingly led to the NB0-105 helicopter crashing to the ground in Kampung Rawabeber, Situ Hyang village, Pagelaran district. 

The crash claimed the lives of the Army’s Special Forces Command (Kopassus) training center Col. Ricky Samuel and head of the training center's training section Capt. Agung Gunarto. 

Both officers were based in Kopassus' training center in Batujajar. 

The chopper’s co-pilot, First Lt. Agus Sudarso died while being transported to the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Jakarta. 

His body was then returned to the Cianjur General Hospital. 

Meanwhile, pilot Capt. Hadi Isnarto and a third passenger, First Lt. Agus Sudarso, also from Kopassus, were in critical condition. 

“They [the victims] were on a routine training flight,” Siliwangi Military command chief Maj. Gen. Rasyid Qurnuen Aquary told reporters. 

On April 6, a Fokker F-27 Troopship from the Indonesian Air Forces crashed at a hanger in the Husein Sastranegara Air Force Base compound, Bandung, killing six crew and 24 soldiers from the Air Force' Special Force (Paskhas). Bad weather was also believed to have caused the accident. 

The deadliest and latest tragedy happened in Magetan, East Java on May 20 when the air forces C-130 Hercules heavy transport aircraft broke into pieces, claiming 101 people, including 52 officers and soldiers. 

The first accident this year was in March when a Hughes helicopter crashed in Semarang, with no casualties. Two other minor accidents occurred in April and May. 

Politicians, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla, also a presidential candidate, have used the accident to criticize the government’s decreased military budget. 

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono denied that his administration had cut the budget for the maintenance of military weaponry. 

Instead, the government was only postponing the purchase of new war equipment. 

Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Christian Zebua claimed the 1988-made chopper was still airworthy. 

“It was still very, very airworthy. So, it’s the bad weather,” Zebua told Antara. 

The helicopter had been conducting a training support mission when it was caught in hard rain and strong winds. 

The ill-fated helicopter was reportedly on its way from Pangalengan, Bandung to Batujajar training center in Cimahi. 

The utility helicopter was manufactured by state aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia under license from German firm Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm.

24 dead in Bandung military plane crash

During heavy rains on Monday a military plane carrying 24 people crashed into an airport hangar and burst into flames, killing everyone on board, an air force spokesman said.
Fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene, pulling bodies from the debris. Emergency workers carried charred parts of the downed Fokker 27 from the smoking hangar.
Air force spokesman Bambang Sulistyo said none of the 24 aboard the aging turboprop -- which was filled with trainees returning from a parachuting exercise -- survived. There were no casualties on the ground, he added.
It was not clear what caused the crash, which occurred as the pilot was trying to land during a heavy storm just outside the city of Bandung. Witnesses told Antara state news agency that the plane appeared to be shaking before diving to the ground.
"There was a thundering sound," said Budi Wuraskito, director of operations at the airport.
"The plane blew apart inside the hangar, which had several airplanes and helicopters inside."
Six crew, an instructor and 17 special forces trainees had been onboard the 32-year-old aircraft, Sulistyo said.
The country's air force has long complained of being underfunded and handicapped by a recently lifted US ban on weapons sales. It has suffered a series of accidents, including a Casa 212 plane that crashed during an aerial surveillance mission last year, killing 18 people.
A series of commercial airline crashes in recent years has killed more than 120 people in Indonesia.

The Jarkarta Post, Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Dua Tewas, 5 Hilang Dalam Kecelakaan Airbus

Pesawat Airbus A320 milik maskapai penerbangan Air New Zealand yang sedang melakukan tes terbang mengalami kecelakaan di laut lepas pantai baratdaya Prancis Kamis, menewaskan sedikitnya dua orang dan lima lainnya masih hilang, kata pemerintah setempat.
Lembaga keselamatan penerbangan sipil BEA Prancis mengatakan, pesawat tersebut jatuh pada pukul 04:46 ketika pesawat itu, yang merupakan produksi Airbus dari kelompok kedirgantaraan Eropa EADS, saat sedang mendekati bandara di Perpignan, di Prancis baratdaya setelah terbang sekitar satu jam.
Seorang saksimata mengatakan kepada radio Prancis, bahwa dia melihat pesawat itu menukik dengan tiba-tiba dan tenggelam di Laut Tengah.
"Saya lihat itu adalah sebuah pesawat karena saya melihat dua mesin besarnya. Tapi tidak ada kebakaran, tidak ada," kata saksimata, seorang petugas polisi setempat, kepada radio Infor Prancis.
"Pesawat tersebut terbang lurus, tapi kemudian menukik kasar ke arah bawah. Saya katakan kepada diri saya bahwa hal itu tak terkendali dan ada semprotan besar di dalam air," katanya.
Pemerintah setempat mengatakan, regu-regu pencari dengan lima kapal, dua regu penyelam dan satu helikopter dikerahkan di tempat jatuhnya pesawat naas itu, sedangkan satu kapal angkatan laut telah dikirimkan untuk mencari kotak hitam pesawat tersebut.
Dua tubuh telah ditemukan tetapi karena kondisi cuaca yang buruk dan gelap tampaknya tak ada harapan adanya penumpang yang selamat.
Kepala eksekutif Air New Zealand, Rob Fyfe mengatakan, dia tidak membayangkan bahwa ketujuh awak pesawat tersebut tewas.
"Saya mengharapkan mungkin ada yang selamat, tapi indikasi dini bahwa pesawat dan serpihannya mengambang di permukaan air, karena itu saya tak punya harapan," katanya dalam konferensi pers di Auckland.
Dia mengatakan, ketujuh awak itu terdiri lima warga Selandia Baru dan dua warga Jerman, yang berada di pesawat tersebut, yang telah disewa dari penerbangan Jerman XL Airways, dan dilakukan ujicoba sebelum dibawa ke Selandia Baru bulan depan.

Sumber: Republika, Jumat, 28 November 2008

Pesawat C-130 Hercules Milik AU Filipina Jatuh

Davao, Selasa - Sebuah pesawat transpor Angkatan Udara Filipina jatuh beberapa menit setelah lepas landas dari Bandara Davao City, Filipina selatan, Senin (25/8) malam. Dua pilot serta tujuh awak pesawat angkut militer C-130 Hercules yang terlibat dalam operasi militer di selatan itu dilaporkan tewas.
Kepala Staf AU Filipina Letjen Pedrito Cadungog, kepada wartawan, Selasa, menegaskan, pesawat C-130 Hercules itu jatuh saat lepas landas di Bandara Davao, Senin malam. Kontak radio hilang beberapa menit setelah lepas landas.
Cadungog menolak berspekulasi mengenai penyebab jatuhnya pesawat itu. Dia mengatakan, sabotase ”selalu merupakan kemungkinan”, terutama berkaitan dengan aksi serangan udara dan darat secara besar-besaran terhadap aksi pemberontakan Front Pembebasan Islam Moro (MILF) di Filipina selatan.
Cadungog mengatakan, gerilyawan MILF diperkirakan tidak memiliki senjata yang mampu menjatuhkan pesawat yang terbang pada ketinggian di atas beberapa ribu kaki. Pesawat angkut C-130 itu berada pada ketinggian sekitar 5.000 kaki atau 1.524 meter. Saat itu, pilot pesawat sedang meminta izin jalur penerbangan.
Sejumlah saksi mengaku mendengar suara ledakan yang cukup keras tidak lama setelah pesawat itu lepas landas. Kedua pilot di balik kemudi C-130 itu sangat berpengalaman. Cadungog mengakui, musibah pesawat angkut militer ini ”cukup membingungkan”.
Pesawat kargo militer itu lepas landas hari Senin pukul 20.50 dan kehilangan kontak lima menit kemudian. Cuaca saat itu dilaporkan cukup cerah.
”Kami telah menemukan satu jenazah dari awak pesawat yang jatuh itu,” kata Cadungog. Regu penolong dan nelayan setempat juga menemukan banyak puing pesawat.
”Nelayan dan warga di desa pesisir di Davao City menyerahkan beberapa bagian dari pesawat itu, termasuk sebuah roda. Juga diserahkan sebuah buku panduan penerbangan C-130 dan dokumen lainnya,” katanya.
Barang-barang pribadi, seperti sepatu bot, tanda pengenal, potongan baju, dompet, dan dokumen AU, ditemukan di desa- desa pesisir dekat lokasi jatuhnya pesawat.
Kapten Arnel Gonzales, ketua tim pencarian, mengatakan, peralatan sonar menunjukkan kemungkinan reruntuhan badan pesawat berada di kedalaman 181 meter, sekitar 2,5 mil laut di lepas pantai Davao City.
Minta bantuan AS
Cadungog mengatakan, AU Filipina telah meminta bantuan militer Amerika Serikat dalam upaya pencarian pesawat C-130 itu. Sebuah pesawat AS diperkirakan akan bergabung dengan delapan pesawat dan helikopter Filipina.
Upaya pencarian berpusat di kawasan beradius 30 kilometer dari sekitar Bandara Davao City. Cadungog mengatakan, pesawat C-130 itu berada di Davao untuk mengisi bahan bakar, dalam perjalanan ke kota Iloilo di Filipina tengah untuk menjemput lebih dari 80 personel Pasukan Keamanan Kepresidenan.
Presiden Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Senin, berada di Iloilo untuk menghadiri upacara mengenang seorang kolonel Angkatan Darat Filipina yang terbunuh.
Pesawat naas itu sebelumnya membawa pasukan dari Fort Magsaysay, sebuah pangkalan militer di Provinsi Nueva Ecija di utara Davao City, Mindanao.
Kawasan tengah dan barat Mindanao menjadi ajang pertempuran antara militer Filipina dan MILF. Militer mengejar tiga komandan MILF yang bertanggung jawab atas pembunuhan sejumlah warga sipil di tiga provinsi di kawasan itu pekan lalu.

Sumber: Kompas, Rabu, 27 Agustus 2008.

Boeing 737-200 Kirgistan Jatuh Saat Lepas Landas

Regu penolong mencari korban musibah Boeing 737 milik Itek Air yang jatuh dekat Bishkek, Kirgistan, Minggu (24/8) malam. Sebanyak 68 penumpang tewas dan 22 penumpang selamat.

Tekanan kabin yang menurun drastis menyebabkan pesawat Boeing 737-200 milik Itek Air jatuh sesaat setelah lepas landas dari Bandara Manas, Bishkek, Kirgistan, Minggu (24/8) malam. Pesawat dengan 90 penumpang dan awak ini hendak terbang ke Teheran, Iran. Sebanyak 68 penumpang dilaporkan tewas.
”Boeing 737 dengan 90 penumpang dan awaknya jatuh be- berapa kilometer dari Bandara Manas, Bishkek, setelah pesawat secara drastis kehilangan tekanan dalam kabin,” ujar Perdana Menteri Kirgistan Igor Chudinov. Tak dijelaskan apa penyebab hilangnya tekanan pada kabin pesawat.
Pilot pesawat mencoba mendarat secara darurat di sebuah ladang tidak jauh dari landasan pacu. Pesawat terbakar dan hancur. Pihak penerbangan sipil menuturkan, pesawat jatuh di dekat Desa Dzhany-Dzher, pukul 20.40 malam atau 21.40 WIB, selang 10 menit setelah lepas landas.
Wartawan Kirgistan di lokasi menyebutkan, para korban tewas berserakan. Penumpang yang masih hidup berteriak kesakitan, terutama karena luka bakar.
Pesawat naas ini milik Itek Air, perusahaan swasta Kirgistan. Itek Air masuk daftar hitam larangan terbang ke wilayah udara Uni Eropa. Menurut Chudinov, tujuh awak pesawat itu selamat.
”Mengutip informasi terakhir, 68 orang tewas dari total 83 penumpang,” ujar Rosa Daudova, juru bicara PM Chudinov. Dia menjelaskan, dalam pesawat terdapat 52 warga Iran, 24 Kirgistan, 3 Kazakstan, 2 Kanada, serta masing-masing 1 Turki dan China.
Sebelumnya, Yelena Bayalinova, juru bicara Kementerian Kesehatan Kirgistan, menjelaskan kepada AFP bahwa 65 penumpang tewas, 22 cedera, dan 3 lainnya hilang. Pesawat hendak terbang ke Teheran, Iran. Sebelumnya disebutkan pesawat terbang ke Moskwa, Rusia.
Ini merupakan musibah kecelakaan pesawat yang terburuk di Kirgistan, negara di Asia Tengah yang sebelumnya bagian dari Uni Soviet. Boeing 737-200 buatan tahun 1979 ini dalam kondisi baik. Pesawat ini milik perusahaan Iran Aseman dan disewakan kepada Itek Air. Namun, Reza Jafarzadeh dari Penerbangan Sipil Iran membantah hal itu.
Musibah di Kirgistan ini kurang dari sepekan dengan jatuhnya pesawat MD-82 Spanair di Madrid, Spanyol, 21 Agustus. Pesawat dengan 172 penumpang ini hendak terbang ke Kepulauan Canary, Samudra Atlantik, tetapi jatuh saat lepas landas. Sebanyak 154 orang tewas.

Sumber: Kompas, Selasa, 26 Agustus 2008