Carcass of crashed cargo plane not yet removed from rice fields

Saturday, October 20, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

As of Friday, the carcass of the crashed cargo plane has not been removed from the water covered rice fields yet. The Koh Santepheap newspaper reported that the plane carcass still lies in thigh deep water at the crash site. The plane carcass is being guarded by Hun Sen’s personal bodyguards and the local police. There is no clear indication as to when the plane carcass will be removed from the incident location, however, aviation experts came to remove important parts of the plane to preserve them, but the plane carcass will be left to the plane operator to decide about its removal. Because of the long size of the plane, it cannot be pulled out in one piece, and it must be cut into several pieces for removal. Several villagers were attempting to get their hands on the plane carcass to cut it into pieces to sell as scrap metal. However, their attempts were not successful because Hun Sen’s bodyguards were preventing them. About 90% of the plane carcass remains, the rest fell apart during the crash landing.

Crashed plane struck by lightning?

Friday, October 19, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

According to unofficial source, it appears that two of the engines of the Russian cargo plane which crashed on Wednesday night in rice fields covered with water, in Kandal Steung district, Kandal province, could be struck by lightning, causing it to interrupt its flight, and forcing it to return back to the airport. Police experts have recovered the plane black box and they will conduct an official investigation on the actual cause of the crash. An official from the Phnom Penh International Airport indicated that the plane was transporting 1,178 boxes of sweaters, weighing a total of 11.6 tons, to Singapore. The plane departed at 9:30 PM from Phnom Penh. After flying close to Kampot province, the pilot group communicated with Phnom Penh asking for permission to land because two of the engines malfunction. At the same time, the pilots were using the remaining 2 engines to fly back and land in Phnom Penh which was only 6 minutes away, but, they had the accident instead by crashing into rice fields. The plane was dragged for about 200-meter after the crash, and it was broken into several pieces.

One Seriously Injured After Cargo Plane Crash-Lands in Rice Paddy

Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 October 2007

A Russian-made cargo plane crash-landed in a rice paddy outside the capital late Wednesday, injuring all five crew members aboard, one of them seriously, authorities said.

One crew member broke his left leg, one sustained a head injury, and three others incurred minor injuries after the plane went down in a muddy field of knee-deep water.

Rescue teams took three hours to remove the crew, whose plane experienced difficulties after take-off from Phnom Penh International Airport en route to Singapore, authorities said.

The Antonov-12, operated by Imtrec Aviation Company, was carrying garments that were either damaged or looted by villagers following the landing, Agence France-Presse reported.

This is the second Antonov to crash in Cambodia in four months, following the June crash of a tourist charter in coastal mountains that killed all 22 aboard.

By Thursday afternoon, rescue teams had transported the remains of the looting to a Phnom Penh warehouse. Authorities said they planned to move the severely damaged plane back to the airport for subsequent removal by its operator.

Cargo plane crashes due to engine failure in Cambodia

October 18, 2007

A cargo plane crashed in Cambodia's Kandal province Wednesday night due to engine failure, aviation officials said Thursday.

Shortly after the plane took off at the Phnom Penh International Airport, the crew members found a lightening problem and the engine abnormal, a civil aviation official said on condition of anonymity, adding that then they decided to go back.

When the plane was returning to the airport, its engine failed to work, causing the crash, he added.

The cargo plane was found in Takoch village, Dearm Rith commune of Kandal province, local officials said on Thursday.

The plane fell into water of about one meter in depth near National Road No.3, some 20 kilometers south of Phnom Penh, breaking into four or five pieces.

At the crash site, some rescuers are carrying out the goods on board the plane by speed boats.

One co-pilot of the five crew members broke his leg, the rest are slightly injured, aviation officials said.

The Russian cargo plane, which was hired by local company Imtrec Aviation, was traveling from Phnom Penh to Singapore.

Source: Xinhua

2 Uzbek flight crew members injured in plane crash in Cambodian rice field [-Garment in the cargo is a boon for poor Cambodians living nearby]

Rescue crew carry the injured pilot of a cargo plane that crashed in Kandal province, 18 km (11 miles) west of Phnom Penh, October 17 , 2007. A cargo plane flying between Cambodia and Singapore disappeared from radar late on Wednesday, leading officials to believe it had crashed. Further details, such as the number of people on board or the plane's cargo, were not immediately available. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

By SOPHENG CHEANG,
Associated Press Writer

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Two Uzbek flight crew members were injured when their cargo plane crashed in a flooded rice field near Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, officials said Thursday.

Half of the 11-ton cargo of clothing was either damaged in water or snatched away by villagers living near the crash site Wednesday night, said Sok Sereyrak, a spokesman of Imtrec Aviation Co. Ltd., which operates the AN-12 plane.

He said the aircraft had five crew members from Uzbekistan aboard, and two were hospitalized with head and leg injuries.

The Russian-made plane was flying the cargo to Singapore before the crash. Sok Sereyrak said an investigation was being carried out to determine the cause of the accident.

After about an hour into the flight, the pilot reported the plane was having technical problems and turned back to Phnom Penh, Kim San, an official at the airport control tower, said Thursday.

"The pilot also attempted to land at the airport but the unfavorable condition of the plane forced him to land in the rice field instead," he said.

In June, 13 South Korean tourists were among 22 people who died when a Russian-made An-24 plane crashed in mountainous jungle in southern Cambodia. The others were three Czech tourists, five Cambodian airline employees and an Uzbek crew chief.

The aircraft, owned by the small Cambodian airline PMT Air, crashed during a storm not long before it was to land in Sihanoukville on the south coast.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said the crash was caused by bad weather, but South Korean news reports, citing the country's diplomats in Cambodia, suggested pilot error may have been responsible.

Probe opens after cargo plane crashes in Cambodia

Three Russian nationals belonging to the air crew are help by soldiers after a cargo plan crashed in Kandal province, 18 km (11 miles) west of Phnom Penh, late October 17, 2007. A cargo plane flying between Cambodia and Singapore disappeared from radar late on Wednesday, leading officials to believe it had crashed. Further details, such as the number of people on board or the plane's cargo, were not immediately available. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Rescue teams in front of a cargo plane that crash-landed in a rice field, some 25 kilometers west of Phnom Penh. The crash that injured three of its five Russian crew, sparked a probe Thursday into the airline's second accident in five months (AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - A cargo plane crash-landed in a flooded rice field near Phnom Penh injuring three of its five Russian crew, sparking a probe Thursday into the airline's second accident in five months.

The Russian-made Antonov-12 had just taken off bound for Singapore with a shipment of garments when it came down late Wednesday, aviation officials said.

"One of the crew is seriously injured with a broken leg and hurt hand," Mao Havannal, chief of Cambodia's Civil Aviation Authority, said.

Civil Aviation security chief Sith Sakal said the aircraft's flight data recorder had been recovered and would be analysed to try to determine why the plane came down.

He said the plane was operated by PMT Air, which in June experienced Cambodia's deadliest air crash in a decade when a charter aircraft carrying 22 people, mostly South Korean tourists, crashed into a mountain, killing all on board.

Pilot error is thought to be the cause of that accident.

PMT, which runs flights between Phnom Penh and some provincial capitals, has now had at least five accidents or in-flight emergencies over the past two years.

In previous mishaps, engine failure forced a plane to turn back mid-flight, while another plane ran off the runway as it landed because it was overloaded with passengers, officials said at the time.

Cargo plane crash near Phnom Penh

Rescue workers stand next to the plane which crashed near Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007. A Russian-made cargo plane crash-landed in a rice field Wednesday night shortly after takeoff from Phnom Penh International Airport, a Cambodian aviation official said. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Rescue workers carry an injured man away from the plane which crashed near Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007. A Russian-made cargo plane crash-landed in a rice field Wednesday night shortly after takeoff from Phnom Penh International Airport, a Cambodian aviation official said. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Rescue workers help an injured man away from the plane which crashed near Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007. A Russian-made cargo plane crash-landed in a rice field Wednesday night shortly after takeoff from Phnom Penh International Airport, a Cambodian aviation official said. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Russian-made cargo plane crash-lands soon after takeoff from Cambodia's capital

Thursday, October 18, 2007

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A Russian-made cargo plane crash-landed in a rice field Wednesday night shortly after takeoff from Phnom Penh International Airport, a Cambodian aviation official said.

Police said one crew member was injured.

Him Sarun, Cabinet chief for the Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said the plane took off at about 9 p.m. and was headed to Singapore when it crashed about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the airport. He said the plane was an Antonov AN-12, but he had no details about its crew or ownership.

A senior police official at the airport said the plane had an engine problem which forced the crew to make the crash-landing. The officer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said a crew member, who appeared to be from a former Soviet republic, was injured, but he did not know to what extent. The total number of crew aboard was unknown.

The officer said the plane was exporting clothing Cambodia's biggest export.

Cambodia-Singapore cargo plane goes missing

Thursday October 18, 2007

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A cargo plane flying between Cambodia and Singapore disappeared from radar late on Wednesday, leading officials to believe it had crashed.

"We lost a cargo plane from radar about an hour or so ago," one fire-fighter at Phnom Penh's international airport told Reuters. "We don't know where it has gone."

Further details, such as the number of people on board or the plane's cargo, were not immediately available.