American couple's parents thank Sata
By David Chongo in Solwezi
Fri 15 June 2012, 13:23 CAT
THE parents of the American couple that died in a plane accident in Zambezi a week ago say they are touched and humbled by President Michael Sata's decision to declare a day of national mourning for their children.
Chitokoloki Mission Hospital in-charge Gordon Hanna said in a statement that the parents were saddened by the incident that claimed the lives of Jay Erickson, 27 and his wife Katrina, 25, but had been calm and understanding of the tragedy.
"We are very humbled, touched and much in awe of the kindness of President Sata declaring a day of mourning last week. It was very, very kind of him and we thank him most sincerely and continue to be amazed at the kindness, support and willingness to help by the government and many individuals in Zambia," the statement by Katrina's parents, Larry and Doreen Hansfield, and Jay's mother Barbara Erickson read in part.
Jay trained as a pilot and together with his wife and two daughters Marina, 2, and Coral, 1 relocated to Chitokoloki early this year.
The couple died when the mission plane they were flying went down the Zambezi River on Saturday June 2 after it hit a Zesco pylon that runs across the river on their way back from Chavuma Mission Hospital.
Labels: AIRPLANE CRASHES, MICHAEL SATA
Read more...
Rupiah’s entourage crash-lands in Kasempa
By Misheck Wange in Kasempa
Sun 17 Oct. 2010, 04:00 CAT
A Zambia Air Force (ZAF) plane carrying three Cabinet ministers who were part of President Rupiah Banda’s entourage yesterday crash landed at Mkinge Airstrip in Kasempa.
Works and supply minister, Mike Mulongoti, who was on board the plane with finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane and community development minister Michael Kaingu, confirmed the plane accident.
The incident happened around 11:00 hours, but ZAF officials declined to comment on the matter, saying they were still investigating.
However, Mulongoti said it seemed the pilot miscalculated when he landed in the middle of the airstrip.
He said when the pilot observed that he would overrun the runway, he applied brakes and the plane went off course into a nearby bush where it stopped.
Mulongoti said the left wing of the plane and the wheels were damaged but all those on board escaped unhurt.
The three ministers were part of President Banda’s advance party to the Nsakwa yaba Kaonde traditional ceremony, which was held in Kasempa yesterday.
President Banda has this year made trips to several countries and towns within Zambia, shrugging off his critics’ demands for him to minimize on the travels to save taxpayers’ money.
In the last four days the President has made two trips to the Copperbelt and North Western provinces “to commission and inspect projects”.
President Banda traveled to the Copperbelt last Wednesday for a three-day working visit and traveled back to Lusaka on Friday to launch the National Census programme.
Yesterday, President Banda left for Kasempa, North Western Province to attend the Nsakwa yaba Kaonde traditional ceremony after which he will proceed to Mongu to commission the construction of the Mongu/Kalabo road in Western Province.
Labels: AIRPLANE CRASHES, RUPIAH BANDA
Read more...
Polish president, govt officials die in air crash
By ALJAZEERA.net
Sat 10 Apr. 2010, 12:20 CAT
Lech Kaczynski, the Polish president his wife and top government official, killed when the presidential plane crashed in western Russia. Image from video footage shows a firefighter working to extinguish the flames from the wreckage of a Polish government Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft that crashed near Smolensk airport today.
A plane carrying Lech Kaczynski, the Polish president, has crashed near Smolensk airport in western Russia, killing all 135 passengers on board, Russian and Polish officials say.
Polish officials also confirmed on Saturday that Kaczynski was on board the flight with his wife, as well as Slawomir Skrzypek, the head of Poland's central bank, Andrzej Kremer, the deputy foreign minister and the army chief of staff.
The Tupolev Tu-154 plane crashed on approach to Smolensk airport in thick fog.
Sergei Antufiev, the governor of Russia's Smolensk region, told official media there were no survivors from the crash.
"It clipped the tops of the trees, crashed down and broke into pieces," Antufiev told Russia-24 television.
Polish 'shock'
Rafal Kiepuszewski, a journalist monitoring the situation in Poland, said the news came as a shock to the Polish people.
"The fact that much of the Polish political establishment appears to have been wiped out on this single flight has really come as a profound shock to the Polish nation," he said.
The Polish government delegation was on its way to the city of Smolensk to take part in the 70th commemoration of the Katyn massacre - where Russian forces killed more than 20,000 Polish soldiers.
Kaczynski has served as president of Poland since 2005. Prior to that, he was mayor of Warsaw, the Polish capital.
An emergency government session was being called in Warsaw to discuss the situation, while a crowd could be seen gathering in front of the presidential palace.
Crash investigation
Smolensk local authorities investigating Saturday's crash said that pilot error may have been the cause of the crash.
"The pilot was advised to land in Minsk, but decided to land in Smolensk," Andrei Yevseyenkov, a spokesman for the local government said.
Chris Yates, an aviation expert, told Al Jazeera the the Tupolev Tu-154 is capable of operating in extreme weather conditions and able to land on unpaved airstrips.
"These things are built like thanks," he said via email correspondence.
"From early reports, it would seem to be a fluke accident, with the aircraft clipping trees in the descent."
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Labels: AIRPLANE CRASHES, POLAND, RUSSIA
Read more...
