A BOEING 737 passenger jet crashed and broke into three pieces on landing during a storm at a Colombian island yesterday, but the only fatality was a woman passenger who died from a heart attack.
The aircraft, carrying 121 passengers and six crew members, was about 80m from the San Andres island runway when an apparent lightning strike caused it to land short and slide on to the runway, crumpling the fuselage.
The Caribbean island’s governor, Pedro Gallardo, said it was extraordinary that Amar Fernandez de Barreto (68) was the only fatality. “It was a miracle and we have to give thanks to God.”
Most passengers were taken to the local hospital for evaluation, with five in serious condition. Ms Barreto seemed to have suffered a heart attack.
The aircraft, owned by the private company Aires, left the capital Bogotá shortly after midnight and was descending into San Andres, a Caribbean resort off Nicaragua’s coast, at 1.49am when the accident happened. “The plane . . . landed in the middle of an intense electrical storm,” Col Gustavo Barrero of the Colombia air force told reporters.
The pilot, who was credited with keeping the aircraft from skidding into the airport terminal, reported a lightning strike, said Donald Tascon, deputy director of Colombia’s aeronautics authority. “We are inspecting the remains of the plane to try to establish what the damages were and what caused the accident.”
The plane’s owner, Aerovias de Integracion Regional SA, said via Twitter it was collaborating with aeronautical authorities to confirm the cause of the crash.
– (Guardian service)