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Plane Crash in Kazakhstan Kills 21 Plane Crash in Kazakhstan Kills 21
(about 5 hours later)
MOSCOW — A passenger plane crashed in heavy fog outside of Kazakhstan’s largest city on Tuesday, killing 21 people in the country’s second major crash in two months, Kazakh emergency officials said. MOSCOW — A passenger plane crashed in heavy fog outside of Kazakhstan’s largest city on Tuesday, killing 21 people, Kazakh emergency officials said. The crash was the second aviation disaster in the country in a month.
The jet, a Canadian-built Bombardier Challenger CRJ200 traveling the 775-mile route from the provincial city of Kokshetau to Almaty, crashed several miles from the airport in Almaty as the pilot tried to land. The jet that crashed Tuesday was a Canadian-built Bombardier Challenger CRJ200 operated by SCAT, a private Kazakh airline. It was on its way to Almaty from Kokshetau, 775 miles away, and crashed near the Almaty airport as the pilot tried to land in a heavy fog. Emergency officials said there were no survivors.
Emergency officials said there were no survivors. Yuri Ilyin, the deputy head of the Almaty emergency department, said there were no signs that the crash was caused by a mechanical malfunction. “There was no fire,” Kazakh state news media quoted him as saying. “The plane was only destroyed on impact when it hit the ground.”
Kazakh officials at the scene said that the accident occurred when the pilot tried to land in a heavy fog. Yuri Ilyin, the deputy head of the emergency department for Almaty, said that there were no signs that the crash was caused by a mechanical malfunction. Mr. Ilyin said rescue workers recovered the plane’s flight recorder.
“There was no fire,” said Mr. Ilyin, according to Kazakh state media. “The plane was only destroyed on impact when it hit the ground.” Rescue workers recovered the plane’s flight recorder, he said. SCAT, whose fleet of about 10 planes operates on domestic and international routes, said in a statement that the plane tried twice to land in “difficult weather conditions” and crashed during the second attempt. The company said there were five crew members and 16 passengers on board, including one child.
SCAT, a private Kazakh airline with a fleet of about 10 planes that runs domestic and international routes through Kazakhstan, said in a statement that the plane made two attempts to land in “difficult weather conditions” and crashed during the second attempt. President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan said in a statement that aid would be distributed to the families of the victims. “In the name of the people of Kazakhstan and myself, I express the deepest condolences to the families and those close to those who died,” the statement said.
The company released a passenger list, which included five crew members and 16 passengers, including one child. Kazakh prosecutors immediately opened a criminal investigation of the crash, in case safety regulations were violated, but it was not clear whether anyone had been arrested or charged.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s president, said in a statement that aid would be distributed to the families of the victims of the crash. “In the name of the people of Kazakhstan and myself, I express the deepest condolences to the families and those close to those who died,” the statement said. In late December, a Soviet-made Antonov An-72 plane carrying 20 members of Kazakhstan’s border patrol service and a crew of 7 crashed while landing at Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan. Bad weather was thought to be the cause; an investigation was opened, but no formal charges have yet been brought.
Kazakh prosecutors opened a criminal investigation for the violation of safety regulations during the crash. It was not clear if the prosecutors had charged anyone in connection with the case.
In late December, a Soviet-made Antonov An-72 carrying 20 members of Kazakhstan’s border patrol service and seven crew crashed while landing at Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan.
Bad weather was also believed to be the cause of that crash. Kazakh authorities said that they had opened an investigation into the crash, but have not made any formal charges.