«It was something really, really terrible; a tragedy for us.»
Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Three survivors remain in grave condition after a Cubana Airlines Boeing 737 crashed in Havana shortly after takeoff on Friday, killing all of the other 107 people on board.
The crash was Cuba’s worst airline disaster in nearly 30 years and was the third major plane accident since 2010, according to The Associated Press .
During a domestic flight from Jose Marti International Airport in Havana to the eastern city of Holguin, the 39-year-old jet veered off course after takeoff and went down before erupting in flames. Investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing, but many suspect that the aging equipment used by the state airline was a factor in the disaster.
Last year, airline officials in Guyana had stopped the same plane from conducting flights due to major safety concerns.
“The only thing we heard, when we were checking in, an explosion, the lights went out in the airport and we looked out and saw black smoke rising and they told us a plane had crashed,” one tourist at the airport told the AP.
While Cubana Airlines’ safety record is generally good, it is known for significant delays or cancellations due to maintenance issues with its planes, a problem the company blames on the trade embargo placed on the communist country by the U. S.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who recently became the nation’s leader after Raúl Castro’s resignation, said a special commission is working to determine the cause of the crash.
“Things have been organized, the fire has been put out, and the remains are being identified,” he said.
The plane had 104 passengers on board, mostly Cubans, and six crew members.
Four survivors were taken to a nearby Havana hospital after the crash, but only three had survived as of late Friday.
Family members gathered at the airport terminal on Friday to await news of their loved ones.
“My daughter is 24, my God, she’s only 24!” Beatriz Pantoja cried, according to the AP. Her daughter, Leticia, was on the plane.
One former flight attendant who worked for the Mexican charter company that had rented the aircraft to Cubana said she knew nearly all of the crew members aboard Cubana Flight 972 when it crashed.
“I don’t have the words. I’m very sad. We’re in mourning,” she said tearfully. “It was something really, really terrible; a tragedy for us.”
Aaron Credeur is a News Fellow at IJR. He has written on a variety of national topics, including the 2016 presidential election, the state of liberal… more
