In a dust (or thunder) storm with limited visibility, an eighteen year old Sudanese Airbus 310 en route from Amman and Syria turns into a fireball after landing in Khartoum. Although half of the 217 passengers and the 14 crew members were feared dead, it appears that 14 are unaccounted for, 171 survived and 29 people died inside the plane. A number of victims were taken to local hospitals.
As they were instructed to taxi, the plane veered off the runway and exploded. Visibility was an issue. A spokesman for the Sudanese Police was quoted as saying that"weather caused the plane to crash land, split into two and catch fire." Prior to the landing, a sandstorm had with 20 mph winds between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. and although some reports say there was a thunderstorm and similar winds at the time of the crash, reports on role the weather vary.
Flames consumed the fuselage and cockpit. Sudan's bad aviation safety record rivals Brazil's; last month a Sudanese crash killed 24 and in July of 2003 an earlier crash killed 115.
The twin engine wide body Airbus A310 has approximately 220 seats, and was developed as a smaller version of the A300. As well as France's Inquiry and Analysis Bureau, the French Airbus company is sending investigators to assist in the investigation.
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