Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Afriqiyah Airways flight crashes at Libya's Tripoli Airport


Libyan carrier Afriqiyah Airways has confirmed that its flight 8U771 was the service involved in the crash at Tripoli Airport today.

The airline states that the accident occurred "during landing" at around 06:00. Flight 8U771 operates from Johannesburg.

While it has not confirmed the aircraft type, Afriqiyah's schedule shows that it uses Airbus A330-200s on the route.

Afriqiyah says that it has no information about possible casualties or survivors, but states that early indications point to there being 93 passengers and 11 crew members on the jet.

"The competent authorities are conducting a search and rescue mission," it says.

Meteorological data for Tripoli at the time of the crash suggests good visibility and calm winds.

Afriqiyah is a new operator of the A330, having taken the first of its three A330-200s last year.

All three aircraft listed in its fleet - serial numbers 999, 1024 and 1043 - are General Electric CF6-powered variants no older than nine months.

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