Colombia

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    Colombia: Tragic Training Flight Tragedy


    Click here for full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Andy Martin – AirTeamImages
    What: retrofitted AC-47 and registration FAC-1670 or FAC – 1659
    Where: in an empty lot near the electrical sub station El Purino, in the west of Caldas, border with the municipality of Honda (Tolima)
    When: 18 FEB 2009
    Who: 5 crew members, three mid-ranking and two lower ranking officials all fatalities
    Why: The military “phantom” plane was on a training flight when it crashed in the vicinity of the air base.

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    Medellin Colombia: American Airlines Boeing’s Miraculous Safe Landing

    What: Fully fueled American Airlines Boeing 737 flight 924 en route from Rionegro to to Miami
    Where: emergency landing at Rionegro airport (Jose Maria Cordoba) near Medellín
    When: 9:50 AM flight
    Who: 148 passengers
    Why: Passengers heard an explosion, after which the crew was concerned that the full plane would not make it over the mountains. They turned back with a fire in one engine, and the crippled plane not climbing as it should.

    The plane circled the airport for half of an hour prior to the successful emergency landing. Though successful, the landing was not uneventful as the heat from braking actually fused the brakes, leaving the plane immobile on the runway. The passengers were successfully deplaned on site via stairs and ported from the runway to the terminal by bus.

    No cause has been given for the initial engine problem, but the American Airlines crew is to be commended for a near-miraculous safe-guardianship of the welfare of the passengers.

    The plane was carrying thousands of pounds of fuel.

    Spanish Article El Tiempo

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    Helicopter Crash in Columbia


    What: private helicopter en route from Veta to branches of the Banco Agrario.
    Where: northeastern Colombia in the mountainous area of the northwestern province of Santander.
    When: Monday
    Who: 3 victims
    Why: unknown cause. Rescue efforts were being hampered by difficult access to the crash site.