COLUMBIA CRASH: AIRLINE SUSPENDED AFTER MORE DETAILS EMERGE
The airline LaMia has been suspended after more details surrounding the plane crash were released.
The Bolivian Civil Aviation Authority suspended the license of the airline on Thursday after more detail surrounding the LaMia Flight 2933 plane crash emerged. The airline reportedly allowed the crashed plane run over its capacity by twenty minutes.
The place had crashed Monday killing 71 people out f the 77 passengers on board. A Brazilian football side Chapecoense were almost wiped out. The goalkeeper of the side Jackson Follman was left with serious bodily damages. Aside the football team, 21 sports journalists set to cover the team’s game died during the accident.
The new details emerged from discovered data that set aside earlier reports that the pilot Miguel Alejandro Quiroga burnt the fuel in a bid to avoid an explosion. Data was discovered that the plane was fuelled with 21,000 lbs of fuel that should have been enough to last four hours. However, after four hours twenty minutes, air traffic controllers ordered the pilot to circle as the pilot begged for emergency landing.
There are claims that the pilot pleaded with the traffic controllers that there was no more fuel but his pleas were ignored. An audio tape was played on Columbian TV, capturing the voice of the pilot asking for permission to land immediately but he was placed on a queue for seven minutes – the third or fourth in line. The plane crashed minutes later with the final words being “we’re going down.”
Aside Follman, defender Alan Ruschel was among the three Chapecoense players that survived the crash. A rescue team member said the player was only concerned about his family as he received help. He is still in the hospital and believed to be in “stable” condition as at the time of this report.
