The crew of the An-24 plane that crash-landed in Donetsk on February13 has received full information from the airport's air traffic control service, and weather conditions helped it make a safe landing, reads a statement posted on the Web site of Donetsk International Airport.
“The crew of the aircraft, charter flight 8971 en route from Odesa to
Donetsk, received detailed information on request from the Donetsk
airport’s air traffic control service. Current weather conditions helped
the aircraft make a safe landing,” reads the statement.
According to the statement, at the estimated time of landing (1809)
the crew did not get into contact with the airport’s air traffic control
service and the air traffic controller gave the alarm. The airport’s
rescue service arrived at the expected place of the plane’s landing and
found the aircraft off the runway.
The plane’s right wing caught fire. Over 70 employees of the
airport’s rescue service arrived at the scene of the accident,
extinguished the fire and evacuated passengers.
“Representatives of the airport’s medical service, along with
employees of the rescue service, provided emergency medical care to the
injured passengers of flight 8971 Odesa-Donetsk while waiting for
ambulances and Emergencies Ministry crews. The passengers were taken to
the terminal building for the provision of care, questioning and
identification,” the airport said.
The airport set up an emergency center, which included airport
employees, the police, and representatives of the State Service for
Emergency Situations and local authorities.
As reported, the An-24 aircraft of South Airlines on flight from
Odesa to Donetsk overshot the runway at Donetsk Sergey Prokofiev
International Airport on Wednesday evening. The aircraft overturned and
the aircraft’s fuselage broke. A total of 52 people were on board the
aircraft, including eight crewmembers.
Five people were killed, and nine were hospitalized.
It was a charter flight, and all the passengers were football fans
heading for Donetsk to watch Shakhtar Donetsk play Borussia Dortmund.
