Advertisement

More survivors in Colombia air crash

CALI, Colombia, Dec. 21 -- Six people were rescued alive Thursday from an American Airlines Boeing 757 that crashed in western Colombia with 164 people aboard, and there were reports of four others still alive. A seventh survivor who was rescued from the rugged, moutainous terrain in Colombia's Valle de Cauca region died at a Cali hospital, but Red Cross workers said there were reports of four other survivors from the Wednesday night crash. Red Cross workers identified the six survivors as Mauricio Reyes, Jacky Gonzalez, Nancy Delgado, Mercedes Ramirez, Gonzalo Dussan and Michael Dussan. All six survivors were reported in delicate condition at a hospital in Cali, 206 miles (330km) southwest of the capital Bogota. Experts began searching the area Thursday for the black box from the plane, which records the flight data, in an effort to determine the cause of the crash. Colombian authorities were being assisted by FBI experts flown in from Washington at the request of American Airlines. Local inhabitant Pedro Solano told radio reporters that it would be very difficult to recover the bodies because of the terrain. 'I went up the San Jose mountain...I didn't find any bodies,' he said. 'We went out after hearing the explosion, I think it was about 10 at night, we got there at 1 in the morning.' Witnesses using two-way radios to communicate from the remote crash site north of Cali said they heard an explosion and saw flames as the Boeing 757 aircraft smashed into the side of a mountain shortly after 9:40 p.m. local time Wednesday.

Advertisement

Ed Martelle, a spokesman for American Airlines in Fort Worth, Texas, said the plane was carrying 152 adult passengers, four infants and a crew of eight. He said the pilot and co-pilot were Americans. Nearly everyone else aboard, including the six other crew members, were Colombians, he said. 'This a truly terrible day for all of us,' said Robert L. Crandall chairman and CEO of American Airlines. 'All of us are terribly sorry this tragic event occurred.' Crandall said an AA 'care team' will work with families -- one care team per family -- to assist them as much as possible. The care teams already left Dallas-Fort Worth in AA planes and aboard charter flights. American identified the cockpit crew members as Capt. Nicholas Tafuri, 57, of Marco Island, Fla., and; First Officer Don Williams., 39, of New Smyrna Beach, Fla. The cabin crew members were Magdalena Borrero, 43; Rosa Cabrejo, 43; Pedro Calle, 43; Teresa Delgado, 37; Gilberto Restrepo, 48; and Maggie Villalobos, 41, all of Bogota, Colombia. Among those reportedly on the plane were a Brown University professor and his family, and the son, daughter-in-law and 3-month-old grandchild of Dade County Commissioner Maurice Ferre, a former mayor of Miami. Colombian civil aviation authorities said the plane communicated with the control tower in Cali five minutes before the crash, and that moments later the plane disappeared off the radar screen. Relatives of those aboard the plane packed the Cali terminal early Thursday, while family members and other relatives drove to the Miami International Airport and were taken to a private room. Witnesses who contacted authorities immediately after the crash said the plane sounded like it was having engine problems before it plowed into the mountain. Airport officials said they received no emergency call from the aircraft. 'American has no information as to the possible cause of the crash and will not speculate on the matter,' Martelle said. 'However, the airline is cooperating with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, U.S. State Department and local Colombian officials in their investigation.' White House press secretary Mike McCurry said the National Safety Transportation Board and Boeing were sending teams to Colombia. The crash occurred in Colombia's Valle de Cauca, a narrow recess between the Occidental and Central Andean mountain ranges, where pilots complain they must fly blind because the mountains that ring it cut off communication between them and the control tower. 'From the information we have, the plane was 25 kilometers (15 miles) off course,' said Civil Aviation director Alvaro Cala. Such a pattern would have placed the plane, which was flying at about 9,000 feet (2,750 m), in a region where the mountains are as tall as 12, 000 feet (3,650 m). Crandall conceded that the plane 'flew slightly east of the regular course,' but said he did not know why. The region where the plane crashed is controlled by rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, and the army kept journalists and others from entering the zone. Rescue efforts in the rugged terrain were postponed during the night because of the bitterly cold weather and fears of guerrilla presence, but there were no indications that rebels hampered efforts. A helicopter with night-vision equipment was called back to the rescue base in Buga, the nearest city, but others were dispatched to the scene at first light. Crandall said the Boeing 757 'has had flawless safety record, and the plane underwent overhaul earlier this year.' 'The flight was uneventful until it lost contact with air traffic control near Cali,' he said. 'So far, as we know it (the weather) was good. There was no precipitation, and the visibility was quite clear.' He said both pilots flew extensively in Latin America, and both were familiar with Cali area. The flight was delayed two hours in Miami awaiting late connections because of bad weather in the northeastern United States. Angelica Londono of Colombia said she and her mother were delayed by snowy weather in the northeastern United States on a connecting flight and missed the plane. 'I'm sorry for the people on the plane. I'm lucky. I'm really happy. I'm going to call my family,' she said. Later she said her husband 'thought we were dead. He was scared. He was crying. He went to the airport and everything.' The plane was delivered to AA in August 1991, and never had problems. Boeing said the 757 had not suffered a fatal accident since first introduced in 1983. ------

Advertisement
Advertisement

(The airline set up hot-line numbers for families of the victims to call for information in both the United States and Colombia. In the United States, the number is (800) 245-0999; the number for English- speaking callers in South America is 980-11-00-10; for Spanish speakers in South America, the number is 980-11-00-11).

Relatives of those aboard the plane packed the Cali terminal early Thursday, while family members and other relatives drove to the Miami International Airport and were taken to a private room. Witnesses who contacted authorities immediately after the crash said the plane sounded like it was having engine problems before it plowed into the mountain. Airport officials said they received no emergency call from the aircraft. 'American has no information as to the possible cause of the crash and will not speculate on the matter,' Martelle said. 'However, the airline is cooperating with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, U.S. State Department and local Colombian officials in their investigation.' White House press secretary Mike McCurry said the National Safety Transportation Board and Boeing were sending teams to Colombia. The crash occurred in Colombia's Valle de Cauca, a narrow recess between the Occidental and Central Andean mountain ranges, where pilots complain they must fly blind because the mountains that ring it cut off communication between them and the control tower. 'From the information we have, the plane was 25 kilometers (15 miles) off course,' said Civil Aviation director Alvaro Cala. Such a pattern would have placed the plane, which was flying at about 9,000 feet (2,750 m), in a region where the mountains are as tall as 12, 000 feet (3,650 m). Crandall conceded that the plane 'flew slightly east of the regular course,' but said he did not know why. The region where the plane crashed is controlled by rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, and the army kept journalists and others from entering the zone. Rescue efforts in the rugged terrain were postponed during the night because of the bitterly cold weather and fears of guerrilla presence, but there were no indications that rebels hampered efforts. A helicopter with night-vision equipment was called back to the rescue base in Buga, the nearest city, but others were dispatched to the scene at first light. Crandall said the Boeing 757 'has had flawless safety record, and the plane underwent overhaul earlier this year.' 'The flight was uneventful until it lost contact with air traffic control near Cali,' he said. 'So far, as we know it (the weather) was good. There was no precipitation, and the visibility was quite clear.' He said both pilots flew extensively in Latin America, and both were familiar with Cali area. The flight was delayed two hours in Miami awaiting late connections because of bad weather in the northeastern United States. Angelica Londono of Colombia said she and her mother were delayed by snowy weather in the northeastern United States on a connecting flight and missed the plane. 'I'm sorry for the people on the plane. I'm lucky. I'm really happy. I'm going to call my family,' she said. Later she said her husband 'thought we were dead. He was scared. He was crying. He went to the airport and everything.' The plane was delivered to AA in Augsut 1991, and never had problems. Boeing said the 757 had not suffered a fatal accident since the first one was delivered in 1983. The airline set up hotline numbers for families of the victims to call for information in both the United States and Colombia. In the United States, the number is (800) 245-0999; the number for English- speaking callers in South America is 980-11-00-10; for Spanish speakers in South America, the number is 980-11-00-11.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines