Second Crash In Six Weeks Involving Cargo Carrier
A Boeing 747-200 freighter operated by Michigan-based Kalitta
Air crashed shortly after takeoff early Monday near Bogota,
Colombia, causing two deaths on the ground.
Information derived from local media reports indicate the plane
(type shown above) took off from El Dorado International Airport in
Bogota at approximately 0445 EDT, carrying a load of flowers bound
for Miami, FL. The plane's flight crew reported an engine fire
shortly after takeoff, and contact was lost soon after.
The plane impacted a ranch home about 15 miles northwest of the
city, Madrid village Mayor Diego Humberto Sicard told The
Associated Press. Two people living in a small house on the ranch
were killed.
None of the plane's eight-person flight crew was lost, though at
least one is reported to be in serious condition. The aircraft,
N714AC, was operated by Kalitta as a wet lease to Centurion
Airlines.
"We think all of the crew on board had various injuries, from
slight to more serious injuries," said Pete Sanderlin,
vice-president of Kalitta Air. "We don't know the extent of it
yet."
The accident is the second in six weeks involving a Kalitta 747.
As ANN reported, a Kalitta 747-200 skidded off
the end of a runway in Brussels, Belgium on May 25, following an
aborted takeoff. The aircraft broke apart upon impacting a berm
near the runway; all five crewmembers survived.
In addition to the two accidents within the past two months,
Kalitta Air CEO Conrad "Connie" Kalitta lost his son, NHRA drag
racer Scott Kalitta, in a June 21 accident during a race in
Englishtown, NJ. Monday's crash is also the second accident in as
many days involving a cargo operation based at Willow Run Airport
in Ypsilanti, MI.
A USA Jet DC-9 cargo aircraft crashed Sunday
while on approach to land at Saltillo Airport in Mexico, killing
the plane's pilot, identified as Lon McIntosh.
The National Transportation Safety Board says the Colombian
government requested assistance from the United States, as the
country of design and manufacture of the airplane and engines. NTSB
Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has designated Senior Investigator Dennis
Jones as US Accredited Representative for this accident. His team
will include four other NTSB investigators, as well as
representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing
and Pratt & Whitney Engines.