Kalitta Air Boeing 747 accident

Kalitta Air split in to 2 parts.
25.5.2008 1:30 pm (13:30) Central European Time(CET)

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- A large cargo plane crashed at the end of a runway and split in two while trying to take off Sunday at Brussels airport, authorities said.


The plane was about to depart for a scheduled flight to Bahrain when it crashed.

Four of the five crew members on board the Boeing 747 were slightly injured and were hospitalized, said Jan Van der Cruysse, spokesman at Brussels Airport.

"The plane is very seriously damaged," he said. The aircraft cracked in two after it crashed at the end of runway 220, which lies very close to a rail line and houses.

Rail services to and from the airport were suspended as a safety precaution, however the crash did not affect other flights at the airport, Van der Cruysse said.

Francis Vermeiren, mayor of the nearby town of Zaventem, said the plane did not catch on fire when it crashed after attempting to take off. Vermeiren was coordinating rescue efforts at the airport.

"The plane is not on fire but it has split into two," he told VRT radio.

Firefighters coated the wings of the plane with special fire retardant foam as a precaution because the plane was still full of jet fuel, the mayor said.

He said the plane was on a scheduled flight to Bahrain. It was not known what cargo the plane was carrying.

Vermeiren said the pilot told rescue authorities he heard a large noise while trying to take off just after midday. It was not yet clear what caused the crash.

The plane is owned by Kalitta Air, a cargo carrier based at Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, Michigan, and makes regular flights from Brussels, officials said. A person who answered the telephone at Kalitta Air said Sunday morning that no one was immediately available to comment.

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[claudekc01]

"Hi Honey! How was work today?"

[RUBBERMOOG]

I bet the pilots had fun using that big slide.

[maverick63082]

At the filming of this video, Connie Kalitta was sending his best techs to the scene to glue/tape it back together enough to do a ferry flight to Tijuana so he could hide it from the FAA while it was overhauled and repaired.

[jonny2387]

Had the courier who was on this flight on my flight the other day. Heard the first hand story of what happened from inside the cockpit!

[Marineperson]

what about the cargo's escape slide?

[StellarSoldier001]

Well... any landing you could walk away from?

[madisonelectronic]

Fucking belgian waffles are heavy, especially in the tummies of fat belgian she cows on a sightseeing trip.

[houshidar558]

damn thats an old 747 its a 747-100 and even after 30 decades+ of flying t was still going most are retired cause of its age yet this one crashed another one dead :

[nellymazbaby]

@Chrisss22 that is the best thing i have heard for ages .so funny well done

[biessewallon]

Est-ce qu'on a réussi à recoller les morceaux ?

[Chrisss22]

Dont see the point in giving it a wash !!

[stockcar269s]

probably a Qantas aircraft in Kalitta Livery, who would fly Qantas these days, freakin stuff exploding in cargo bays, engines exploding, stuff falling off the aircraft, smoke filling cabins....no thanks, gone from being one of the worlds best airlines to positively 3rd world these days