Colombian Jet Crash Seen as a ‘Miracle’

Colombian jet crash considered a miracle

In what is considered a miracle, just one out of 121 passengers and six crew members died yesterday when a Boeing 737 jet plane split into three pieces upon landing at the San Andres Airport in Colombia.

The lone fatality, 68-year old Aar Fernandez de Barreto, was reported to have suffered a heart attack from the mishap.

The passenger plane was apparently struck by lightning just as it was about to land 80 meters from the airport runway which caused it to land short and broke into three pieces as it slid through the pavement.

The Caribbean island governor Pedro Gallardo said “We have to give thanks to God,” viewing the event as nothing short of a miracle.

Dozens of passengers, five of them with serious injuries, were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

“It’s incredible. For the dimension of the accident there should be more,” said hospital director Robert Sanchez.

The flight from Bogota to San Andres, a Caribbean resort off the coast of Nicaragua, was scheduled to land at 1:49 when the accident happened.

“It’s a miracle. The skill of the pilot kept the plane from sliding off the runway,” said Orlando Paez, a national police general.

The passengers described conditions as appearing normal in spite of a looming storm as the plane prepared for landing. “The plane was going perfectly, we were practically going to land, everything was under control,” said passenger Ricardo Ramirez.

The landing came up short and the fuselage broke into pieces because of the impact and friction. One engine and parts of the landing gear were torn off.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Tuesday August 17 2010, 9:21 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0