Second A/C Loss For Carrier In Three Days

A fire that swept through one of aircraft maintenance company Sabena Technic's hangars at Brussels National Airport Thursday night destroyed four aircraft, including a second Airbus A320 belonging to Armenia carrier Armavia. That carrier is still reeling from the loss earlier this week of another A320, that went down in the Black Sea Tuesday night with 113 onboard.

"This was a reserve airliner. We hope this accident will not wreck our overall flight schedule, and we will try and make up for the losses," said Armavia press secretary Zhasmin Vilyan in response to the loss of the second aircraft (file photo of type, below.)

A worker at the hangar was seriously burned in the fire, but is expected to recover. Three firefighters received minor injuries and were treated at the scene, according to local media reports.

Sabena Technics handles maintenance for a variety of carriers throughout Europe. In addition to the Armavia plane, another A320 belonging to International Armenia Airlines was also reportedly destroyed in the fire, as was a C-130 transport belonging to the Belgian Air Force.

The fourth aircraft is reported to be an A320 belonging to Cypriot charter carrier Hellas Jet.

Before this week's accidents, Armavia counted five A320s in its fleet, as well as two Yak-42 trijets. All of its aircraft are leased from other companies.

On Friday, hundreds of mourners gathered on the shores of the Black Sea near the resort town of Sochi, and laid wreaths of blue, white, and red flowers to commemorate the 113 victims of this week's accident. On Wednesday, the Russian and Armenian governments designated Friday as a national day of mourning for those lost in the mishap, which officials have stated was caused by poor weather conditions. Search crews also said Friday it was unlikely that the bodies of more than half the victims would ever be recovered.

FMI: www.u8.am, www.armavia.ru, www.sabenatechnics.com