Boeing plane veers of Senegal runway, 11 injured
3 Min Read
The B737/300 flight from Air Senegal, chartered by Transair, was carrying 78 people on its way to Bamako, according to airport authorities LAS.
-
Boeing 737 of Transair en route to Bamako skids off runway at Dakar International Airport in Senegal on May 09, 2024. (X photo @AviationSafetyNetwork)
A Boeing passenger airliner veered off the runway after takeoff in Senegal early Thursday, hurting 11 passengers and closing the international airport near the capital Dakar for over 12 hours, management said.
The B737/300 flight from Air Senegal, chartered by Transair, was carrying 78 people on its way to Bamako, according to airport authorities LAS. Four passengers were critically injured during the incident.
The plane "came off the runway during its takeoff phase" at approximately one a.m. (0100 GMT), according to LAS, which is made up of Turkish business Limak, publicly-owned airport operator AIBD, and another Turkish firm, Summa.
There were eleven injuries, four of which were critical. According to LAS, six additional passengers were escorted inside the airport for medical checks.
According to the organization, the Diass airport, located 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Dakar, reopened shortly afterward.
"We inform you that Blaise Diagne International Airport has reopened. Airport operations have resumed as normal," LAS reported.
According to the organization, the aircraft was "immobilized" away from the runway, and airport officials activated an emergency plan as soon as they were notified.
LAS emphasized that the circumstances around the incident are still undetermined, citing an investigation was underway as "Aviation specialists along with representatives of the airline concerned are on site to examine closely the airline log data and interview crew members."
The event comes after months of criticism for Air Senegal, with customers constantly expressing frustration regarding flight delays.
Following Senegal Airlines' bankruptcy in April 2016, the state-owned firm commenced operations in May 2018.
FedEx Boeing 767 encounters landing issue in Istanbul
The news comes less than a day after a FedEx Boeing 767 jet faced landing difficulties upon arrival in Istanbul, Turkey.
According to a statement issued by FedEx Communications Manager Sarah Rose Watkins, "FedEx Express Flight 6268, a Boeing 767, was en route from Paris, France to Istanbul, Turkey, when it experienced an issue during landing Wednesday morning,"
Boeing is currently embroiled in a deluge of controversy regarding the company's disregard for critical safety concerns.
Thus far, two Boeing whistleblowers have reportedly died under mysterious circumstances.
The first, John Barnett, died in March in an apparent suicide. The second, Joshua Dean, succumbed to a mysterious illness.
On Tuesday, news sources reported that Boeing is facing new scrutiny after telling US authorities that it may have neglected to conduct required quality tests on its 787 Dreamliner jets.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that it was "investigating whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records."
According to the FAA, Boeing voluntarily informed them in April that it "may not have completed required inspections to confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner airplanes."
Scott Stocker, the Boeing official in charge of the 787 programs, stated in an internal document obtained by The Guardian that the issue was reported by an employee and was a case of "misconduct", but not "an immediate safety of flight issue."
As per the memo, several people were "violating company policies by not performing a required test, but recording the work as having been completed," detailing that the regulator was informed and "swift and serious corrective action" was being taken.
