A plane carrying up to fifty Spanish peacekeeping forces from Afghanistan to Madrid crashed early Monday in northwest Turkey, news reports said. The plane went down near the mountainous town of Macka, 30 miles south of the Black Sea port of Trabzon. One witness reported the wreckage of the plane was in flames and said he saw at least two charred bodies. The Ukrainian plane was flying from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to Zaragoza, Spain, with a refueling stop in Trabzon. It carried 62 passengers — all Spanish peacekeeping forces — and 12 crew members. The plane apparently went down in its third attempt to land in thick fog at Trabzon. Officials said the pilot reported not being able to see the runway in the first two attempts, and the plane disappeared from radar screens at 4:45 a.m. Turkish military troops and ambulances rushed to the scene to rescue possible survivors, the Anatolia news agency said.
Ouch. Condolences to all the families. And people, stop flying "Air Ukraine." |