Carrier

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    Spirit Airlines Emergency Landing in Los Angeles

    What: Spirit Airlines Airbus A319 en route from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale
    Where: Houston
    When: July 8, 2012
    Who: 100+ passengers
    Why: After a disruption aboard the flight, the pilots diverted the Spirit Airlines flight to Houston, where they made a safe landing. Passengers who disembarked had no Spirit Airlines counter because, although flights are soon scheduled to begin landing there, currently there is no Spirit Airlines Customer Service at Houston Intercontinental Airport.

    On arrival, the disruptive passenger was handed left in the custody of Houston Law Enforcement.

    The disruptive passenger was an elderly blind frenchman in his eighties who had become disoriented and frightened. His son was called by authorities.

    Passengers reboarded the flight and departed Houston at 6:42 PM.

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    Air India Emergency Landing in Pakistan

    What: Air India Airbus A-319 en route from Abu Dhabi to New Delhi
    Where: Nawabshah 3:37 a.m.
    When: July 9, 2012
    Who: 122 passengers and six crew
    Why: While en route, the flight developed problems with three hydraulic systems. The crew diverted to Nawabshah Pakistan. According to news reports, “The captain preferred to keep passengers on board.”

    Air India is sending a team of eight engineers to Nawabshah to repair the plane and return it.

    The shuttle sent to return with the stranded passengers is expected to return by 4 pm.

    The DGCA is investigating.

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    Dana Air Interim Payments Offered


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Peter Tonna
    What: Dana Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83 en route from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria
    Where: Iju neighborhood, Lagos
    When: June 3, 2012
    Who: 153 passengers
    Why: Dana air stated that it is fully aware of the mandatory requirement by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), for interim benefits to be paid to the families of the victims within 30 days of the accident.

    Although 68 families have completed their insurance compensation documentation, only nine families were given $30,000 each, having been the only ones to successfully run the legal gauntlet.

    Beneficiaries said the interim payment fell short of their expectations.

    Claim forms must be taken to Yomi Oshikoya & Co, for verification. Yomi Oshikoya & Co was appointed by the insurers in Lagos.

    Dana Air attempted to distribute cheques as interim compensation to some individuals made homeless by the crash. Dana Air prepared N500, 000 for one of the victims, Mr. Daniel Omowunmi, N100, 000, each to two occupants of the boys’ quarters and N200, 000 each to six families in the block of flats. Full payment of the compensation by the insurance company is pending. The lawyer rejected the checks as inadequate and also not all of the victims were included.

    In George’s Point of View

    Interim payments, that is good.

    It’s Lloyds of London.

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    Family Piper Lost in Miss. Storm

    What: Rgd. Flt Away LLC Piper PA-32R-300 Cherokee Lance en route from Andrews, N.C. to Oxford, Miss
    Where: Mississippi
    When: July 8 2012
    Who: 3 aboard
    Why: James Bartley Jr.; his wife, Terry Bartley; and their youngest daughter, Caroline Bartley died when their plane broke apart in the air over Mississippi. They were flying from a vacation home in North Carolina to the University of Mississippi. There was lightning reported in the vicinity when the plane crashed. The wreckage is described as burned and crumpled and may have fallen from an altitude of 8000 feet.

    Rescue teams responded on foot, four-wheelers and horseback.

    The debris field was spread over half of a mile n a field near County Road 4111 in New Site, Mississippi; the fuselage was found by a medical helicopter.

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    Southwest Airlines: Smoke scented Vegas to San Jose Flight


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Conor Clancy

    What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Las Vegas to San Jose
    Where: Mineta San Jose International Airport
    When: July 3, 2012, 10:30 am
    Who: 99 aboard, 3 crew
    Why: 25 miles east of the airport, the pilot declared emergency. There was no smoke visible but there was the smell of smoke.

    The plane taxied to the gate, where passengers disembarked.

    Twenty firefighters remained at the scene in case of escalation, as investigators went through the plane.

    In George’s Point of View

    I fly Southwest and I know enough about aircraft to say that the planes are wearing out.

    They are made to take off and land and not stop, but aging planes need extra maintenance. Most of these planes gotta go in for real hard look.

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    Melted Tarmac Traps, Delays DC Flight

    What: U.S. Airways en route from Reagan National Airport to CHarleston SC
    Where: Washington DC
    When: July 6, 2012
    Who: 35 passengers, 3 crew
    Why: As the jet was on the runway, it sank into the hot tarmac, and got stuck. THe cart could not pull the plane with the tires embedded. Everyone aboard disembarked so the jet could get unstuck. Efforts delayed the flight for three hours.

    A passenger reported online that there was a jerking motion going back and forth as if something was stuck and preventing the craft from moving, and then passengers waited 45 minutes on the tarmac fir a bus to the terminal.

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    Alouette Crashed in Romania, 4 lost

    What: Romanian Air Force AR 316B Alouette III
    Where: Buzau, Romania
    When: July 5, 2012
    Who: 4 aboard
    Why: Captain Commander Docuz Mitica who was piloting the Alouette when it went down had over 1700 flight hours; and his copilot Viorel Cojocaru had 650 hours. Topoliceanu Catalin had more than 1,100 flying hours, Student Steven Corope?chi also died in the crash. One of the mechanics aboard might have been taking a flying lesson.

    The Air Force School of Boboc lost radio contact with the helicopter at around 12:00 shortly before the helicopter crashed in Buzau County in the area known as Cross Comsoaiei right near the highway E85.

    Rescue vehicles including water and foam trucks and ambulances responded but all four aboard died.

    A committee of Air Force Staff will be investigating the crash and the findings made public.

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    UTAir Crashes on 4th, killing 4 in Lensk


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Senior

    What: UTAir Aviation Aérospatiale AS 350 B3 Ecureuil en route from Lensk to Talakan
    Where: Lensk, Russia
    When: July 4, 2012 18:11
    Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities
    Why: Four people were aboard the UTAir helicopter when it crashed near Lensk Russia, killing the pilot and copilot and two passengers just moments after the pilots lost contact with ATC.

    Initial reports said there were only three aboard. The helicopter normally performed a regular shuttle flight.
    https://airflightdisaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/aerorussiautair.jpeg

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    Commission of Inquiry to Begin

    What: Kenya Police Air Wing Eurocopter AS 350B3e Ecureuil
    Where: Ngong Hills, near Nairobi Kenya
    When: June 10, 2012
    Who: 6 aboard
    Update: The Kenyan Commission of Inquiry established to look into the June 10 helicopter crash in the Kibiku Forest in Kenya is set to hold its first formal session on July 16. The container holding the wreckage will be stored at the Kenya Police Air-Wing facility at the Wilson Airport.

    The Kenya Police Airwing Unit Commandant Rodgers Mbithi will be appearing as the first witness.

    The pilots involved, Captain Nancy Gituanja and Luke Oyugi, underwent pilot training in the Ukraine in April 2009.

    According to commission members, the intent of the commission is “…not to apportion blame, but to prevent occurrence.”

    Fatalities included Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security George Saitoti and his permanent secretary Orwa Ojode, pilots Luke Oyugi and Nancy Gituanja and bodyguards Inspector Joshua Tonkei and Sergeant Thomas Murimi.

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    NC National Guard Firefighting Plane


    What: MAFF 7 C-130
    When: July 1, 2012 6:30 p.m. Sunday night
    Who: Six aboard, including Lt. Col. Paul Mikeal and Master Sergeant Robert Cannon
    Why: The tanker made at least two drops of fire retardant on the White Draw fire before it crashed around 6 p.m, the first SUCH crash in the 40-year history of the MAFFS program, a joint Defense Department and U.S. Forest Service program. MAFFS is the Forest Service’s self-contained aerial firefighting system. It can discharge 3,000 gallons covering an area a quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide in less than five seconds.

    Three firefighters were transported by ambulance to a Rapid City hospital. North Carolina state flag have been lowered to half-staff at all state facilities from sunrise to sunset(Tuesday, July 3) to honor the N.C. National Guard members who died.

    Charlotte mayor Anthony Foxx said. “On behalf of the City of Charlotte, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the Airmen who lost their lives Sunday night in South Dakota, and wish the Airmen who were injured a full and speedy recovery,

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    SD: More Firefighting Tragedy Strikes

    What: USAF Lockheed C-130H Hercules
    Where: Edgemont SD
    When: 1 July 2012
    Who: 6 aboard, 4 fatalities
    Why: A C-130 transport aircraft en route to support firefighting missions crashed in South Dakota. The crew was part of the fight against the White Draw Fire.

    The USAF Release said:

    PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) — At approximately 6 p.m. MDT July 1, a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System equipped C-130 aircraft supporting firefighting missions crashed in the southwest corner of South Dakota. The aircraft was supporting the efforts against the White Draw Fire.

    The cause of the crash is not known and the incident is under investigation. There are no details on the status of the aircrew available at this time.

    MAFFS is a joint DoD and U.S. Forest Service program designed to provide additional aerial firefighting resources when commercial and private airtankers are no longer able to meet the needs of the forest service.

    MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system owned by the U.S. Forest Service that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than 5 seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, it can be refilled in less than 12 minutes.

    Media outlets made this update:
    .CHARLOTTE NC – The crash of a North Carolina-based Air National Guard cargo plane that was fighting wildfires in South Dakota has left at least one crew member dead.The family of Lt. Col. Paul Mikeal of Mooresville confirmed they were notified early Monday that he had died in the C-130 crash on Sunday. The 42-year-old married father of two was a veteran of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.Lt. Col. Rose Dunlap of the 145th Airlift Wing in Charlotte says six crew members were aboard.The North Carolina Air National Guard confirmed that lives were lost in the crash. Other crew members who were injured were taken to Rapid City Regional Hospital. Names and conditions have not been released.The plane went down about 6 p.m. in the southwest corner of South Dakota where it had been dropping flame retardant on the White Draw Fire.The cause of the crash is under investigation and all other MAFFS-equipped C-130s have been grounded.

    In George’s Point of View


    So many heroes.
    So many tragic deaths.

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    Attempted Hijacking foiled

    What: Tianjin Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Hotan to Urumqi
    Where: Hotan
    When: Jun 29th 2012
    Who: 9 crew, 92 passengers
    Why: Right after takeoff, six passengers on the flight announced a hijacking.

    Apparently three were in the front of the plane, and three were in the back.

    Passengers and Sky Marshals subdued the hijackers.

    Two flight police officers were seriously injured. Two attendants and seven passengers were slightly injured. The six who attempted to hijack the flight were taken into police custody when the captain returned to the airport within sixteen minutes of takeoff.

    b>In George’s Point of View

    What a tragic, yet heroic story.

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    Russian Pilots Bail out of Sukhoi Jet

    What: Sukhoi Su-27UB (“Flanker-C”) 2nd Air Group, 7000th Airbase, Russian Air Force
    Where: Besovets, Prionezhsky district, Karelia Republic, Russia
    When: June 28, 2012
    Who: 2 aboard, 0 fatalities
    Why: Col. E. Oleynik and Major general K. Botashov, ejected from a Sukhoi jet before it went down in Besovets village. The air force suspended Sukhoi flights pending investigation. It is not known if the engine ingested a bird or if a flight control system failed.

    The jet had been on a routine weather check and training flight.

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    Hunan Airlines Crash Report Released; Captain and 19 Others Blamed

    The report of the Henan Airlines crash suggests that Henan Airlines be fiend $795,000 due to safety issues and suggests the chief pilot should have his pilot’s license revoked, be removed from his post and expelled from the Communist Party, and should also face criminal charges.

    The report says “says chief pilot Qi Quanjun did not locate the runway before landing.” The jet crashed 2260 feet short of the runway. The pilot crash landed under conditions of poor visibility, then left the plane, failed to evacuate the passengers and rescue the injured. The report names 19 people in all as contributing to the accident. Airline officials and local civil aviation authorities are also cited in the report and may be subject to “disciplinary penalties, be demoted or dismissed.”


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Weimeng

    What: Shenzhen Airlines/Kunpeng/Henan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Harbin to Yichun China
    Where: Yichun China
    When: Aug 24th 2010
    Who: 91 passengers (including 5 children) and 5 crew; 43 immediate deaths, 3 serious injuries and 50 minor injuries
    Why: The plane overran the runway—and departed the runway on landing—at Lindu airport in Yichun city in Heilongjiang province at 10:10 p.m, split on impact, exploded, and burst into flames. 53 people were rescued, three of whom with serious injuries.

    An investigation in 2008 revealed 100 pilots employed by Henan Airlines’ parent company had falsified their flying credentials; and about a hundred pilots flying for other airlines were found to have done the same thing.

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    Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554


    Two hijackers died from injuries after six Uyghur men armed with aluminum crutches and explosives attempted to hijack Tianjin Airlines Embraer ERJ-190, registration B-3171. Six minutes after takeoff, they attempted to get into the cockpit. Passengers and crew overcame the hijackers who were dressed as Tianjin Airline staff. Thirteen were injured: seven passengers, two air marshal security officers. two flight attendants, two hijackers. The flight was scheduled from Hotan to Ürümqi in China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region. As a consequence of this attempted hijacking, security measures and airport security was beefed up.
    The separatist World Uyghur Congress claimed the incident did not happen and that the incident was an excuse to lock up Uyghurs.

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    Kenya Crash Investigation Begins

    What: Kenya Police Air Wing Eurocopter AS 350B3e Ecureuil
    Where: Ngong Hills, near Nairobi Kenya
    When: June 10, 2012
    Who: 6 aboard
    Why: The team put together to investigate the June 10 crash has visited the crash site and said they will begin mapping the area. A representative of the victims will be at the team meetings in an effort to promote transparency. Two Kenyan Ministers were aboard the helicopter.

    See Video below

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    Military Fokker Crashes in Jakarta Neighborhood


    What: Tentara Nasional Indonesia-AU (Air Force) Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M
    Where: Jakarta Indonesia
    When: June 21, 2012, 15:00 hrs.
    Who: 7 aboard
    Why: The flight was engaged in maneuvers when it crashed into a Jakarta neighborhood in the Rajawali housing complex (the Air Force Eagle Complex, at Halim Perdanakusuma airport.). It is reported that everyone aboard the flight except the co-pilot died in the crash. The co-pilot survived; and several people inside the buildings also died on the ground. A fireball erupted in the neighborhood. Some residents were hospitalized with burns.

    Major Flight Heri Setiawan (captain pilot), Sergeant Major Simulanto, Sahroni Flight Lieutenant, Captain Agus Supriyadi Engineering, Purwo First Sergeant, Master Sergeant Wahyudi (Engineering Squadron 021) were confirmed killed in the crash.

    Skies were clear at the time of the accident.

    The names of the victims who were in the housing were not released. Video below

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    Jet Blue Takes Rocky Road back to Vegas, Jetblue 194 crew superheroes


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Nicholas Vollaro

    What: Jetblue Airbus A320-200 en route from Las Vegas to New York
    Where: Las Vegas
    When: June 17
    Who: 135 passengers
    Why: After taking off from Las Vegas, “yellow” hydraulics aboard the jet blue flight failed, leading the pilot to declare an emergency and return to the airport due to “mechanical indications.”

    Passengers were getting airsick due to the plane’s rocking locomotion, and described the flight as nightmarish.

    On landing, the plane was towed, as the steering was reported as inoperable.
    video below

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    All Nippon Airways Bounce-Landing, No Injuries


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Liukw

    What: All Nippon Airways Boeing 767-300 en route from Beijing to Tokyo
    Where: Tokyo
    When: June 20, 2012
    Who: 190 aboard
    Why: On nosegear touchdown, the jet received damage, bouncing before securing the landing and making it to the gate. No injuries were reported.

    The video below records the “bounce.”

    The skin of the jet developed several creases.

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    Jet Blue Pilot Facing Hearing in Court

    Update
    U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson issued e a ruling Friday in Amarillo judging suspended JetBlue pilot Clayton F. Osbon as mentally competent to stand trial on federal charges stemming from a March 27 in-flight incident that forced his co-pilot to divert a Las Vegas-bound jet to Amarillo’s airport. He has no trial date set. It should be noted that the ruling that he is currently competent does not mean he was mentally competent at the time of the incident, at which time he was incoherent, racing inside the cabin, yelling about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and pounding on the cockpit door

    What: Jetblue Airbus A320-200 en route from New York to Las Vegas
    Where: Amarillo
    When: March 27 2012
    Who: 1 medical emergency, 135 passengers, six crew
    Why: While en route, the pilot of the JetBlue Airbus suffered a panic attack. He was locked out of the cockpit and restrained, and another JetBlue pilot who was aboard assisted the first officer in the cockpit as they diverted to Amarillo and made a safe landing.

    In George’s Point of View


    JetBlue pilot Clayton F. Osbon was under the influence of medication when he was piloting that flight. It is too bad if we can not get this pilot medical help and at the same time put the medications on trial.

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    Delta Tire Blows at Salt Lake


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Paul Jongeneelen

    What: Delta Boeing 767-300 en route from Salt Lake City to Paris
    Where: Salt Lake International Airport
    When: June 16, 2012. 7 pm
    Who: 198 aboard
    Why: On takeoff from salt Lake City, a left tire on the Delta flight blew. Pilots circled, performed a flyby and dumped fuel before they made a safe landing.

    The plane was examined in the hanger, and passengers returned home when the flight was cancelled.

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    Blue Island Runway Incident, Jersey


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Shaun Simpson

    What: Blue Islands ATR-42-320 en route from Guernsey to Jersey
    Where: Jersey-States Airport
    When: June 16, 2012
    Who: 43 passengers
    Why: According to Blue Islands, after making a safe landing, during taxi the left-hand landing gear suffered a suspected mechanical failure and resulted in the left wing contacting the ground. Debris was scattered down the runway.

    No-one was injured. Passengers disembarked through the main door, were assessed by medical staff, and left the airport with their baggage at around 1000. During the incident, the runway was closed. Flights were suspended for eight hours on June 16.

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    Nepal Flight Diverts to Safer Topography after Bird Strike


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Sam Chui

    What: Tara Air de Havilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter en route from Jumla to Nepalgunj
    Where: Surkhet Airport
    When: June 13, 2012
    Who: 19 passengers
    Why: Co-ilot Abhisek Rai was injured while flying the Tara Air jet from Jumla to Nepalgunj when a bird struck the plane’s front mirror.

    Captain Prabhakar Ghimire decided to divert the flight, and made a safe landing at Surkhet Airport.

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    Air India Pilot Lands Safely Minus Nose Wheel


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Frank-Thomas Klütsch

    What: Air India Avion de Transport Regional ATR-42-300 en route from Silchar to Guwahati
    Where: Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoli International Airport in Guwahati
    When: Jun 10th 2012
    Who: 48 passengers, 4 crew
    Why: On takeoff from Silchar, the (left) nose wheel detached.

    The crew was en route when the pilot received a message that one of the plane’s nosewheels had been found on the Silchar runway by someone at ATC.

    There were five wheels remaining on the plane-one remaining nosewheel, and two pairs of main wheels.

    Passengers were alarmed when the crew removed heavy items from the cockpit to shift the center of gravity further back in the plane, and when landing, keep the nose up as long as possible.

    The pilot, Captain Urmila Yadav performed a flyby for visual confirmation, circled to burn off fuel and made a safe landing. She and co-pilot Yashu were later commended for her skill by the DGCA. Yadav has 4,000 hours in the cockpit.

    Emergency crews were on standby during the landing.

    An inquiry into the emergency has been initiated.

    In George’s Point of View


    Whoever found that fallen nosewheel left on the runway should also be commended. Without that crucial information, the outcome of this incident may have been different.

    And while there are many pilots who consider this a “routine” emergency, and the fact that the 4,000 hr pilot is a woman is irrelevant because as long as she is in the Captain seat, she is a pilot first, we do believe in recognition for a job well-done. Good job, Captain Urmila Yadav. Maybe the good captain agrees with us that someone should give maintenance a slap on the wrist.

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    Helicusco Victims Recovered, Koreans Returning Home Sunday

    clip from youtube
    What: HeliCusco Sikorsky S-58ET en route from Mazuco to Cusco
    Where: Hualla Hualla Peru
    When: June 6 2012
    Who: 14 aboard
    Why: The helicopter carrying two Peruvian crew members and 12 passengers (mostly Korean) is confirmed to have crashed in Hualla Hualla in the Cusco region in southern Peru on Mama Rosa mountain. The flight had gone missing on June 6 in a high Andes region of cloudy mountaintops. Difficulty retrieving the remains of eight Koreans, a Dutchman, a Swede, a Czech and three Peruvians, is due to the crash elevation of nearly 5,000 meters (16,393 feet). Between the elevation, weather and terrain, an air approach is impossible, and recovery crews had to approach by land. The consuls of Korea and Austria were in Cuzco to find out about the search for their fallen countrymen.

    The recovery operation was suspended Saturday afternoon because of bad weather.

    In addition to the police patrol, the parties of the High Mountain Unit included at least eight agents, a team of medical examiners and assistant prosecutors.

    One of the videos below includes footage of locals hand carrying the remains down the mountain.

    The eight Koreans who lost their lives in the accident will be returned to Korea on Sunday.

    Read More: HeliCusco Sikorsky Missing in Andes, 14 aboard