Second Crash In Six Weeks Involving Cargo Carrier

A Boeing 747-200 freighter operated by Michigan-based Kalitta Air crashed shortly after takeoff early Monday near Bogota, Colombia, causing two deaths on the ground.

Information derived from local media reports indicate the plane (type shown above) took off from El Dorado International Airport in Bogota at approximately 0445 EDT, carrying a load of flowers bound for Miami, FL. The plane's flight crew reported an engine fire shortly after takeoff, and contact was lost soon after.

The plane impacted a ranch home about 15 miles northwest of the city, Madrid village Mayor Diego Humberto Sicard told The Associated Press. Two people living in a small house on the ranch were killed.

None of the plane's eight-person flight crew was lost, though at least one is reported to be in serious condition. The aircraft, N714AC, was operated by Kalitta as a wet lease to Centurion Airlines.

"We think all of the crew on board had various injuries, from slight to more serious injuries," said Pete Sanderlin, vice-president of Kalitta Air. "We don't know the extent of it yet."

The accident is the second in six weeks involving a Kalitta 747. As ANN reported, a Kalitta 747-200 skidded off the end of a runway in Brussels, Belgium on May 25, following an aborted takeoff. The aircraft broke apart upon impacting a berm near the runway; all five crewmembers survived.

In addition to the two accidents within the past two months, Kalitta Air CEO Conrad "Connie" Kalitta lost his son, NHRA drag racer Scott Kalitta, in a June 21 accident during a race in Englishtown, NJ. Monday's crash is also the second accident in as many days involving a cargo operation based at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, MI. A USA Jet DC-9 cargo aircraft crashed Sunday while on approach to land at Saltillo Airport in Mexico, killing the plane's pilot, identified as Lon McIntosh.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the Colombian government requested assistance from the United States, as the country of design and manufacture of the airplane and engines. NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has designated Senior Investigator Dennis Jones as US Accredited Representative for this accident. His team will include four other NTSB investigators, as well as representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney Engines.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.kalittaair.com