Libyan airliner crashes, 105 dead

by Tamas S. Kiss Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

It was a sunny bright morning when Libyan airliner Flight 771 was preparing to touchdown at 6.am local time Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at Tripoli International Airport after departing at 1.am local time from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.

But somnolent passengers never lived to made it to the runway. Nobody knows what happened as witnesses reported a loud crash and explosion that allegedly killed all 104 people (93 passengers and 11 crew members) on board.

Authorities say they have no idea what could have caused the accident, but they did rule out any suspicion of terror acts. The local national television showed debris of the aircraft scattered across airfield. Rescue workers and police collected dead bodies and forensic evidence Smoldering debris of the plane contains the flight recorder ‘black box’, while color spotted tail wing of the Airbus A330-200 aircraft (like the one pictured) was the only evidence revealing the airline company, Afriqiyah.

It is uncertain what could have caused the accident. Weather conditions were clear and visible with only soft winds. Based on unconfirmed preliminary reports there were no Hungarians on board. The aircraft was owned by the Libyan state and was in immaculate condition, authorities said.