A few hours before the Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 737-800MAX went down with 157 people on board, another aircraft had crashed in Colombia killing 12 people instantly.
The tragic Colombian crash which involved an American-made aircraft identified as Douglas DC-3 jet, reportedly killed Columbia’s Taraira town’s mayor, Doris Villegas, her daughter and husband.
The American-made aircraft, Douglas DC-3 aircraft, Photo: Oldjets Online Magazine.
Reports seen by TUKO.co.ke on Monday, March 11, revealed the DC-3 aircraft went down on Saturday between Villavecencio city and San Jose del Guaviare in Colombia.
According to Colombia’s Aeronautica Civil Aviation Authority, the ill-fated plane’s wreckage was found near Villavecencio with no survivor.
The jet was being flown by pilot Jaime Carrillo and co-pilot Jaime Herrera who were also accompanied by aviation technician identified as Alex Moreno.
Preliminary investigations found the plane crashed as a result of engine failure although the airline did not give more details about the cause. “An engine turned off and the pilot tried to land, but it got out of control,” said Defensa Civil emergency director, Jorge Martinez, as quoted by RCN news.
The Douglas DC-3 crash come a few hours before the Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 737-800MAX accident which according to the flag carrier, went off the radar at 8.44am, about six minutes after takeoff from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa.
All the 157 people, 149 passengers and eight crew members, who were on board the Ethiopian flight en-route to Nairobi, Kenya, perished. The airline’s spokesperson, Asrat Begashaw, noted 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, six Egyptians, nine Ethiopians, seven French, eight Americans and seven Britons among other nationalities were killed in the Sunday morning crash. Investigations are underway to established the exact cause of the accident.