Death Toll In Plane
Accident In Honduras
Rises To Six
At least six people
have been killed and 86
others hospitalized as a
plane smashed into cars
and a building after
skidding off runway
Friday at the Toncontin
airport in Tegucigalpa,
the capital of Honduras.
News reaching here from
Tegucigalpa said the
accident occurred at
about 10:00 a.m. local
time (1600 GTM), when
the plane, owned by
Central America's TACA
airlines, was trying to
land at the Toncontin
airport amid heavy rain
and fog.
The plane Miami-bound
Airbus A-320, with 124
passengers and crew on
board, left San Salvador
at 8:00 a.m. local time
and was scheduled to
stop briefly in
Tegucigalpa and in San
Pedro Sula before
heading to Miami.
The pilot, who was among
the dead, was apparently
unable to stop the
aircraft after landing.
The plane skidded off
the runway, raced onto a
busy street and smashed
into an embankment,
breaking into three
parts, as it tried to
make a landing at the
Toncontin airport.
Also among the dead was
Nicaraguan Harry
Brautigam, president of
the Central American
Bank for Economic
Integration.
Honduran former Industry
and Trade Minister
Norman Garcia, who was
also on the plane when
the accident occurred,
was one of the
survivors.
Honduran President
Manuel Zelaya expressed
regret over the accident
and also extended his
condolences to the
victims.
Guatemalan Vice
President Rafael Espada
said Friday President
Alvaro Colom has called
his Honduran counterpart
Zelaya to extend his
condolences to the
families of Brautigam
and other victims of the
accident.
Honduras Industry and
Commerce Minister Norman
Garcia said poor
visibility could have
contributed to the
crash.
Specialists have said
that landing at
Toncontin airport is
difficult for big planes
because the runways are
short and narrow.
The worst plane crash
that occurred at
Toncontin airport was
in1989, when a passenger
aircraft smashed into a
hill, killing 133
people.
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