NTSB SENDS TEAM TO ASSIST COLOMBIAN
GOVERNMENT FOLLOWING BOEING 747 FREIGHTER CRASH
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The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team
of investigators to assist the Government of Colombia in its
investigation of this morning's crash of a Boeing 747-200
freighter.
At about 2:52 a.m. EDT on July 7, the cargo aircraft
(N714AC), operated by Kalitta Airlines as a wet lease to
Centurion Airlines, crashed shortly after takeoff from El
Dorado International Airport, Bogota, Colombia. Reports
indicate that the 8 persons on board survived the crash but
that there might be some ground fatalities.
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 U.S.
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.
The investigation is being conducted by the Special
Administrative Unit of Civil Aviation of Colombia, which
will release all information on the progress of the
investigation. That agency's phone number in Colombia is
(57) 1 4139894.