Zimbabwe plane crashes after run-in with pigs
Harare |Thursday, 2009 4:35:05 PM IST
 

Two people were slightly injured after a passenger aircraft of Zimbabwe's state-owned airline crashed on take-off after colliding with a herd of wild pigs, officials said Thursday.

Transport Minister Nicholas Goche told the state-controlled Herald newspaper that the Air Zimbabwe MA60 plane, on a flight to the western city of Bulawayo Tuesday was about to lift off from Harare airport's runway shortly after dark when the pigs ran into its path.

"The nose (of the Chinese-made 60-seater) and left main landing gear collapsed after impact," he said.

The aircraft came to a halt off the runway. A wingtip and the propeller of one of the plane's two engines was damaged.

Two of the 34 passengers were injured, he said. The four crew escaped unharmed.

Goche said that the animals involved were warthogs, but Mervyn Senior, owner of Mbizi game park which is next to the airfield, said it was more likely the culprits were the smaller bushpig.

"There are no warthogs around here," Senior said, adding bushpigs were a problem at airfields in wildlife areas. "You have to buzz the airfield two or three times before you land," he said.

--DPA

rd/dg

( 201 Words)

2009-11-05-15:18:01 (IANS)

Viewer's Comment Comments Not Available

More Stories

Reliance gives grant for widening Gurgaon-Faridabad road 

UP Govt bans holding of dharna near Vidhan Bhawan 

Lawyers agitation in Bhilwara ends 

Student kills another 

61.33 pc polling in Civic bodies polls in Rajasthan 

Int\'l conf calls for legalising traditional healthcare systems 

West Bengal ministers face \'\'ire\'\' of Trinamool Congress supporters 

Indian classical dancers enthrall audience at IFFI 

Printer Friendly Version

Send This page to A Friend