Yemenia Flight 626
 | This article may be affected by a current event. Information in this article may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (June 2009) |
 A Yemenia Airbus A310 aircraft similar to the one used for Flight 626. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 30 June 2009 |
| Summary | Under Investigation |
| Site | Indian Ocean, near Comoros Unknown |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A310 |
| Operator | Yemenia |
| Registration | 7O-ADJ |
| Flight origin | Sana'a International Airport |
| Destination | Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport |
| Passengers | 142 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Fatalities | 3 confirmed[1] |
| Survivors | 1 confirmed[2] |
Yemenia Flight 626 was a scheduled commercial flight that was en route from Sana'a, Yemen to Moroni, Comoros, when it crashed at around 2:50 a.m. on 30 June 2009 (23:50 UTC on 29 June 2009) with 153 aboard.[3][2]
The flight originated in Paris on a Yemenia Airbus A330 with stops at Marseille Provence Airport in Marseille, France where some of the passengers and crew were loaded; Sana'a International Airport in Sana'a, Yemen where passengers were moved into an Airbus A310; and was due to arrive at Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport in Moroni, Comoros at 2:30 a.m. local time on 30 June.[4]
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was an Airbus A310-324 aircraft, registration 7O-ADJ. The aircraft, manufacturers serial number 535, had been manufactured in 1990 and had been in service for 19 years and 3 months and accumulated 51,900 flight hours at the time of the accident.[3][5]
The aircraft entered service with Air Liberté on 30 May 1990, then registered F-GHEJ. It was on lease from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and was returned to them on 23 September 1996. On 8 February 1997 it entered service on lease to Aerocancun, reregistered VR-BQU. In March 1997 it was subleased to Adorna Airways, returning to Aerocancun on 3 November 1997. In May 1998 it was returned to ILFC and reregistered N535KR. On 26 August 1998 it was leased to Passaredo Transportes Aéreos, reregistered PP-PSE. In September 1999, it was leased to Yemenia, re-registered 7O-ADJ and remained in service with them until the accident.[6]
Dominique Bussereau, the French Minister of Transport, reported that the plane was inspected in 2007 by the French Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile and found to have a number of faults, however since then the plane had not returned to France and consequently was not reinspected by the same authority.[2]
Accident
The crash occurred in the Comoro Islands in the Indian Ocean. The crash occurred several minutes from the airport, near the coast and was witnessed by residents in nearby villages. An unnamed UN official at the airport claimed that the control tower had received notification the plane was approaching to land before losing contact.[2] There are unconfirmed reports the plane had crashed after an aborted landing. There had been several days of inclement weather in the region and there was bad weather at the time of the accident.[2] Yemeni civil aviation deputy chief Mohammed Abdul Qader said the wind speed was 61 km/h (38 mph) as the aircraft was landing.[3]
This is the third accident for Yemenia; the previous two were runway excursions with no fatalities, although one aircraft was written off.[7] This was also the second major aircraft crash for Airbus within one calendar month, following the 1 June crash of Air France Flight 447 with 228 fatalities, also including numerous French citizens.
Search and recovery
According to a source in the Comoran police, the nation possesses no sea rescue capabilities.[8] Two French military aircraft and a vessel began the formal search for Flight 626.[2] The Comoros consists of three volcanic islands, Grande Comore, the main island, Anjouan and Moheli. It is located in the Mozambique Channel, 190 miles (310 km) northwest of Madagascar and a similar distance east of the African mainland.[9]
The wreckage was spotted off the coast of the town of Mitsamiouli, noting there were a few bodies and lots of floating debris in the sea.[10]
Passengers and crew
There were 142 passengers and 11 crew aboard. All but two of the people on board were reported to be Comoran. {{citation}}: Empty citation (help) An airport source has claimed that 66 of the passengers held French citizenship, but many of those could be dual French-Comoran citizens.[1][2] Many may have been residents of Marseille, a French city with a large Comoran population, and were headed home for a short vacation; the week of the accident marks the beginning of summer vacations for French school children.[3] The two other persons on board were said to be Europeans.[1][2][10][11]
See also
- Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, which also crashed near the Comoros
References
- ^ a b c "Boat finds wreckage of crashed airliner off Comoros: officials". BNO News. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Yemen jet crashes in Indian Ocean". BBC News. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Yemeni Jet Carrying 153 Crashes in Indian Ocean". Fox News (Associated Press). 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ "Bodies 'found' from crashed Yemeni airliner". France 24. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ "Current News". Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ "7O-ADJ Yemenia - Yemen Airways Airbus A310-304 - cn 535". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ "Yemenia Airways". Air Safety Network. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ "Jet Goes Down in Indian Ocean With 153 Aboard". The New York Times. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ "Plane with 150 on board crashes into Indian Ocean". The Times. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ a b "Yemeni plane crashes with 154 aboard". CNN. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ Amir, Ahmed (29 June 2009). "Yemeni plane crashes in Comoros, 150 on board". News. Reuters. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
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