(Newswire.net — December 29, 2019) — The airliner with 93 passengers and five crew members crashed on take-off in Kazakhstan. Among the survivors, rescuers pulled a baby out of the plane wreckage, media reports.
The rescue footage shows a uniformed man running through the snow, holding in his arms a baby dressed in white clothing. The man ran towards the ambulance so that the baby could receive medical attention.
The Fokker-100 plane crashed shortly after take-off, with 93 passengers and crew. It first hit a concrete fence and then smashed into a two-story building near the airport.
At least 60 people received medical attention, and 30 of them who were seriously injured were transferred to several different hospitals across Kazakhstan. Reportedly, 12 people were killed in the crash.
The causes of the crash are still unknown, but history shows that the Fokker 100 has so far crashed several times due to ice buildup on its wings.
Kazakhstan Vice Prime Minister Roman Sklyar said in a news conference that the plane had twice touched the runway during takeoff, which indicate a trouble with liftoff. He added that technical problems or pilot error are possible causes of the crash. A decision was made to suspend all Beck Era and Fokker-100 flights in Kazakhstan while the investigation is underway.
Investigators are checking to determine if ice has accumulated on this aircraft which may cause the inability to control the pitch of Fokker-100 type aircraft. The weather was clear in Almaty this morning, with mild sub-zero temperatures common at this time of year.
There is the reason why investigators are checking the aircraft remains for icing problem. It appeared that icing is a weak point of Fokker-100 and that this type of aircraft crashed multiple times over iced wings issues.
The first crash of this model occurred on March 5, 1993 in Macedonia (then former Yugoslavia, now Northern Macedonia), when the plane of Paler Macedonia crashed shortly after taking off from Skopje airport. Flight 301 was flying to Zurich. A total of 83 people, 79 passengers and 4 crew members were killed, while 14 survived. At the time, it was the deadliest plane crash in Macedonia.
Just as it took off from the Macedonian national airport in the early morning, the plane was shaken by strong vibrations. Just 15 meters from the ground, at a wind speed of 168 miles per hour (ground speed), the plane had leaned to the left, then to the opposite side before it crashed and broke into three parts. Similar behavior was spotted by witnesses of the Kazakhstan plane crash.
The Macedonian investigators determined that the cause of the plane crash was ice buildup on the wings, also known as atmospheric freezing. The accumulation of ice caused the lift force to deteriorate.
The wing icing is a common issue for all types of aircraft, even the general aviation. That is why there are mandatory de-ice systems and procedures involved in any flight preparation. However, the Macedonian ill-fated airliner crew did not ask for the wings to be sprayed with anti-ice fluid as they were called to task shortly before the flight, and there was poor coordination between Paler Macedonia, Fokker aircraft manufacturer and Rolls-Royce engine suppliers on this issue.
On January 25, 2007, Air France’s Fokker-100 from Pau to Paris crashed shortly after takeoff. All 54 people on the plane managed to escape in time, however one person on the ground was killed. A following investigation has determined that the cause of the crash was ice on the wings.
The manufacturer produced total 327 Fokker-100 airplanes of which 11 has crashed. The Foker series production ended in 1997 after the company declared a bankruptcy, however, Fokker-100 airplanes are still in service and very popular in many countries for their low cost.