Lufthansa Cargo Jet Crashes at Riyadh Airport

On Tuesday, a Lufthansa cargo jet crashed when attempting a landing at Riyadh Airport. According to the carrier, the 2-man crew survived and are being treated for minor injuries.

The cargo plane was flying from Frankfurt to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, with 80 tonnes of freight when it crashed at 11:38am. Both of the pilots were hospitalized immediately due to minor injuries. Saudi civil aviation authority spokesman Khalid al-Khaibri said that the captain and co-pilot are in good health.

Lufthansa says that it isn’t known yet exactly what type of freight the flight was carrying or the customers that will be affected. The cause is still being investigated as well, they added. Al-Khaibri told reporters that the pilot said there was a fire in the cargo hold while talking to ground officials before landing at the airport. Ground rescue and fire teams were immediately dispatched, he added.

According to some reports, the Lufthansa cargo plane split into two pieces when it landed, while smoke was seen seeping out as it approached. The fire was put out later by civil defence teams, which took about 3 hours, the report continued, and flights were delayed and later resumed when the incident was over. One ground official is even quoted saying that the jet is completely finished.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the US says that they are sending a team to help with the investigation. Chairwoman Deborah Hersman will be sending flight operations specialists, technical advisers, an aircraft systems specialist and a senior air safety investigator from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.