According to various news reports, Kalitta Air Flight K4-207 was departing Brussels Zaventem for Bahrain around noon local time when the accident occurred. Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang, after which the aircraft overran the end of runway 02. It was not clear whether the aircraft had completed its takeoff roll and begun to rotate prior to the overrun.
The aircraft came to rest a just inside the airfield's perimeter fence, several hundred meters beyond the threshold of the runway. The fuselage split open just aft of the wings, and photos taken at the scene appear to show another break just forward of the empennage, but this has not been officially confirmed.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has dispatched at team to assist the Belgian government in its investigation of this accident. The NTSB announced:
NTSB investigator Joe Sedor has been designated as the U.S. Accredited Representative, and he will be accompanied by technical specialist in the areas of flight operations, aircraft systems, structures, and powerplants. The U.S. team will also include technical advisors from the FAA, Boeing, and Pratt & Whitney.Updated information about today's accident will be posted here on Aircrew Buzz as it becomes available. [Links to updates are at the end of this post, after the video.]
The Belgian government is leading the investigation and will release all information on its progress.
A collection of still photos of the Kalitta Air crash at Zaventem Airport can be found on the Belgian website LeSoir.be. Video footage of the aftermath of the accident, from LiveLeak.com:
(If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on LiveLeak.com)
UPDATE May 29, 2008: Kalitta Air crash may be associated with engine fire
18 comments:
Was the aircraft overweight? My X sayes the 747's are always in need of repair and are not serviced properly. He also said many time that the aircraft was worth more in insureance money than what they made, even if costs lives.
Broken loser pilots who fly broken aircraft. Kalitta pilots are the bottom of the barrel, bottom-feeder losers, many of whom have alcohol convictions and flight violations. Connie likes those kinds of losers, since they have no other options and will be his faithful servants The only less reputable company is Tradewinds, scab-central for losers who weren't sober enough to attend their Kalitta interviews; Tradewinds ran a 747 off a runway in Columbia a couple of years ago and has broken a bunch more aircraft.
These nasty companies give U.S. cargo operators a bad name.
So, must be all Kalitta crew use the words "SWEETIE" to hide a litte anger of the world they live in. Sounds very familiar, bet I know where that came from. Most Kalitta pilots call everyone sweetie, even their wife, just say it in a different way. Makes me pretty sick. How many times do you think Kalitta pilots report their own company because they dont want to fly the shit?
I know that some of the pilots are pretty miserable and fed up. I wonder if maybe this incident was done on purpose. Someone once told me that they wanted to do something like this and then walk away from the "airplane shit" forever. Has anyone thought about that angle?
so sad that all of you are too dumb to even get a job with Kalitta Air that you have to rip them apart..no i am not a pilot...apparently all of you have been burned by Kalitta Air and feel the need to vent your anger...I feel sorry for you...I am sorry you are not lucky enought to work for Connie
Sorry to see so many comments about the crew. I flew for Kalitta after many years at TWA and American where I have been furloughed for 6 years. Kalitta is really an amazing place. No matter what anyone thinks of an owner it doesn't make up the crews or the FAA that watches over them. Kalitta flies into some of the most difficult situations imaginable especially due to all the military jobs. Because of this, the crews are actually quite incredible and the training was by far harder and than anything the majors ever threw at me. With 10,000 + hours all with major airlines in the 757, 767 and the MD-80 I was at the bottom of the barrel of experience and that is for real. Kalitta is mainly comprised of military and heavy drivers from the airlines so the comments are actually funny. As for the crew, couldn't be better. The FO is a great friend and an incredible person. He has tons of experience and would give the shirt off his back for anyone on this forum if they needed it. At any rate, it is sad that pilots, engineers and mechanics work so hard and deal with so many variables and yet their tireless and professional work goes unnoticed daily. When an incident or accident occurs, however, we are always quick to jump on them and it is ridiculous. The plane could have been overweight, the data could have been wrong, they could have had multiple failure. We simply don't know, but give them a break and let the investigation work this out.
Anyone actually know who the crew is? I've some friends who fly for Kalitta and hope they weren't the unlucky ones on that aircraft.
I worked for Connie pre the 747 days, I am not a pilot, but many of the pilots and F/E's were close friends.
I was fortunate enough to deadhead on numerous flights, and found every crewmember I flew with to be highly professional and skilled in their chosen profession.
As for crewmembers complaining, this is the norm among crew members, I have ridden with a number of the majors as a deahead and their complaints are no different than the cargo carriers.
who was the crew? i`m and old willow run rat . wondering who was involved.
A message from the owner of Aircrew Buzz:
Unfortunately I had to delete several comments because they were -- or contained -- SPAM, profanity, and/or personal attacks against individuals. The comments section of Aircrew Buzz welcomes opinions of all stripes, so long as they are not abusive. Argument is okay; dissent is okay; differences of opinion are okay; abusive language and personal attacks are not.
Regarding the names of the crew, while I understand that some may want to know who was on board out of concern for their friends' welfare, as a policy, I do not publish the names of crew members involved in accidents or safety incidents unless their company and/or a government agency makes those names publicly available.
This could have been a disaster if the air craft left the ground. I feel sorry for the crew not knowing what they were flying. They must have been very well trained to abort that take off. I wish Connie would be better to his staff. I know first hand how hard these people work. Hopefully the investigation will lead to a complete clean up of the company.
I have been working for Kalitta Air as a pilot for a year now, and it is the best flying job I've ever had. We have our challenges, and I think most people on the outside really don't know what they are talking about.
aaarrrggghhh!
first time i heard of this airline, anyways i am feeling so bad. but thank God every are fine :)
i am a flight attendant and working for Emirates Airline :)i love ma airline :D
Emirates is the Best :)
I've worked for this company doing maintenance on these aircraft. I have to say that this is a wonderful company to work for. Every thing is done by the book. All work is double checked by leads and Inspectors that take their jobs seriously and know that not only our the lives of the crew in their hand but so our their lives if and when they ride one of our planes to anywhere. The planes fly over our house when they take off from our base repair station. While I pitty those who feel the need to attack us I also feel their shame in not realy knowing us. I am sorry that you feel the need to act like children and lash out on those you do not know. I thank those of you who back us in our time of great loss for such a wonderful plane. Rest in peace N704CK you will be missed.
My father worked for Kalitta in the 90's and had plenty of harrowing stories of danger and risk to tell. The company motto back then was inspired from Nike, "Just do it" Looking at this most recent incident, as one of many in which pilots worked on the outside edge of risky situations, I can't help but wonder what factors might have contributed to this incident. No job is worth losing your life for.
ALL YOU WHO THINK THE PILOT/CREW WAS TO BLAME ARE IDIOTS.MY UNCLE WAS THE PILOT. HE BEEN FLYING FOR OVER 30 YEARS WITH NO INCIDENTS OR INFRACTIONS. HIS FIRST CONCERN WAS FOR HIS CREW DO YOU THINK YOU COULD CRASH A 747 AND HAVE ALL THE CREW SURVIVE YOU IGNORANT F#*K HE COULDN'T HELP HE HIT THAT FARM HOUSE BUT IF YOU THINK YOU COULD DO ANY BETTER THEN WHY DON'T YOU GIVE IT A TRY.AS FAR AS I'M CONCERED HE DID WHAT EVERY PILOT SHOULD PUT HIS CREW BEFORE HIMSELH
Sorry folks. Kalitta crews don't deserve any of you negative comments. Your problems lie with the owner(s) and that I will agree with. MX is dangerous and the FAA at YIP continually turns their back. The Feds also "narc" on the pilots if they report the company. The Feds at YIP have gone so far as to hunt down someone who reported violations on the FAA Hotline. Guess what, the company found the pilot. The YIP POI reported to the company who the pilot was. How about that for confidentiality and security on the FAA Hotline. This is why the Kalitta pilots CAN'T report anything...someone is always watching.
As someone who worked for the Kalitta's for years, I would like to make sure that whoever reads this posting understands ONE THING. The Kalitta's think of NO ONE but themselves and the money that is going in their pockets - they respect NO LIVES - ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A PILOT OF THEIRS - and they are the most dangerous company to work for that I have ever been involved with. For those of you who sang their praises - GOD HELP YOU. You have no idea what those owners allow to be done to those airplanes, how horribly unethical and unsafe the maintenance departments are run and how inbred the Detroit FSDO is with that organization as a whole. I have FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE here and I am telling you all that none of those crew members are safe and it is only a matter of time before a Kalitta aircraft takes out an elementary school or a neighborhood. EVERY person in charge at that organization is a criminal or a convict of some sort - it's public knowledge - look them up.
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