Yemenia Flight 626
Encyclopedia
Yemenia Flight 626 was an Airbus
A310-324
twin-engine jet airliner, operated by Yemenia
, operating as a scheduled international flight from Sana'a
, Yemen
, to Moroni
, Comoros
, that crashed on 30 June 2009 at around 1:50 a.m. local time (22:50 on 29 June, UTC) while on approach to Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport
, killing all but one of the 153 passengers and crew on board. The sole survivor, 12-year-old Bahia Bakari
, was found clinging to wreckage, after floating in the ocean for thirteen hours. Bakari was released from the hospital on 23 July 2009, approximately one month after the crash.
, registration
7O-ADJ, manufactured in 1990 as serial number 535. It was in service for 19 years and 3 months, and had accumulated 51,900 flight hours on about 17,300 flights by the time of the accident.
Owned by the International Lease Finance Corporation
(ILFC) the aircraft first entered service with Air Liberté
on 30 May 1990. After leases to successive operators it was leased to Yemenia
in September 1999, re-registered 7O-ADJ and remained in service with them until the accident.
Dominique Bussereau
, the French
Minister of Transport, reported that the plane was inspected in 2007 by the French Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile
and found to have a number of faults; however, since then the plane had not returned to France and consequently was not reinspected by the same authority.
, who boarded Yemenia Flight 749, operated using an Airbus A330-200, with a stopover at Marseille Provence Airport
in Marseille
, France
, where some more passengers and crew boarded. After arriving at Sana'a International Airport
in Sana'a
, Yemen
, passengers transferred to an Airbus A310
for Flight 626, which was due to arrive at Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport
in Moroni
, Comoros
, at 2:30 a.m. local time on 30 June.
The flight crew members, all Yemeni, were Captain Khalid Hajeb, First Officer Ali Atif, and Flight Engineer Ali Salem. Of the cabin crew, 3 were Yemeni, 2 were Filipino, 2 were Moroccan, 1 was Ethiopian, and 1 was Indonesian.
, Comoros
, in the Indian Ocean
several minutes from the airport. An unnamed United Nations
official at the airport said that the control tower
had received a notification that the plane was approaching to land before losing contact. There are unconfirmed reports that the plane had crashed after an aborted landing. There had been several days of inclement weather in the region at the time of the accident. An unseasonably strong cold front had moved through the Comoros Islands, bringing winds gusting to 64 km/h (39.8 mph; 32.7 kn) and conditions favorable for light to moderate turbulence. Yemeni civil aviation deputy chief Mohammed Abdul Qader said the wind speed was 61 km/h (37.9 mph; 31.1 kn) at the time the aircraft was landing.
Yemeni officials did not suspect foul play.
This was the third accident for Yemenia; the previous two were runway incursions with no fatalities, although one aircraft was written off. This was also the second major aircraft crash for Airbus within the same calendar month, following the 1 June crash of Air France Flight 447
with 228 fatalities, also including numerous French citizens.
and Mayotte
. The Comoros consists of three volcanic islands, Grande Comore
, the main island; Anjouan
; and Moheli
. It is located in the Mozambique Channel
, 190 miles (305.8 km) northwest of Madagascar
and a similar distance east of the African mainland. The wreckage was spotted off the coast of the town of Mitsamiouli
, including a few bodies and large amounts of floating debris in the ocean.
, a Franco-Comoran. She was picked up during rescue efforts by local fishermen and speedboats sent by authorities on Grande Comore. She had been holding on to wreckage for 13 hours. Bakari had been traveling with her mother, who did not survive. Bahia was released from the hospital in Paris on 23 July 2009 approximately one month after the plane crash.
in Tanzania
during the second week of July 2009, and transferred to hospitals in Dar es Salaam
.
On July 5, 2009, the signals from the aircraft's flight recorder
s were detected. The French oceanographic vessel Beautemps-Beaupré
arrived at the Comoros on 15 July 2009, and by 23 July 2009 had completed a mapping of the ocean floor around the crash area, which helped pinpoint the exact location of the recorders. Due to the great depth of the recorders' current location, the French navy had announced that it would employ underwater robots for the recovery operation, which began in August 2009. The flight data recorder
was eventually recovered on 28 August from the Indian Ocean at a depth of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), while the cockpit voice recorder
was recovered on 29 August.
of the Comoros is in charge of the investigation. The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
(BEA) sent an investigative team, accompanied by Airbus specialists, to assist in the investigation of the causes. Yemen also sent a technical team to Moroni, while a committee, headed by the Yemeni Minister of Transport, has been formed. The preliminary findings of the investigation point to pilot error as the cause of the accident. There were objections from the Comoros and Yemeni authorities to suggestions that pilot error was the cause. In November 2009, Yemenia announced that they were looking for a third party to investigate the accident, accusing the French of attacking Yemenia "day and night" and of "harassment". Yemenia stated that the investigation was "affecting the reputation of Yemen".
nationals. There were also citizens of Canada
, Ethiopia
, Indonesia
, Morocco
, Palestinians of the West Bank
, the Philippines
and Yemen
on board the plane. An airport source has claimed that 66 of the passengers held French
citizenship, but many of those could be dual French-Comoran citizens. Many may have been residents of Marseille
, a French city with a large Comoran population, headed home for a vacation; the week of the accident marks the beginning of summer vacations for French school children. The two other persons on board were said to be Europeans. The three flight crew members were all Yemeni. Of the cabin crew, 3 were Yemeni, 2 were Filipino, 2 were Moroccan, 1 was Ethiopian, and 1 was Indonesian.
said "A few years ago, we banned this plane from national territory because we believed it presented a certain number of irregularities in its technical equipment." : The Yemeni Transport Minister Khaled Ibrahim al-Wazeer said, in response to Bussereau's comment, "It was a comprehensive inspection carried out in Yemen ... with experts from Airbus. It was in line with international standards." : The Comoran community in France organized a march in Paris
, in tribute to the victims of Flight 626, with thousands (according to the organizers) attending. They also disrupted Yemenia flights, protesting in French airports against the airline's safety record and preventing passengers from boarding or checking-in. As a result, Yemenia canceled indefinitely all its flights to and from Marseille
and all additional flights between Sana'a and Moroni.
. The crew members found were Captain Khalid Hajeb, First Officer Ali Atif, the three Yemeni cabin crew members, the two Moroccan cabin crew members, and the Ethiopian cabin crew member. One cabin crew member, Hamdi Wazea, was buried in Sana'a
, while the other Yemenis who were found were buried in Aden
. The bodies of the Moroccans were sent to Morocco, while the Ethiopian was sent to Addis Ababa
. The crew members who had not been found included Yemeni engineer Ali Salem, the two Filipino cabin crew members, and the Indonesian cabin crew members. In the last two days leading to 1 December, 54 bodies were buried in Moroni
.
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
A310-324
Airbus A310
The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engine widebody jet airliner. Launched in July 1978, it was the second aircraft created by Airbus Industrie,a consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. the consortium of...
twin-engine jet airliner, operated by Yemenia
Yemenia
Yemenia , also known as Yemen Airways is the national airline of Yemen, based in Sana'a. It operates scheduled domestic and international passenger flights to destinations in Africa and the Middle East, as well as to Asia and Europe, out of its hubs at Sana'a International Airport, and Aden...
, operating as a scheduled international flight from Sana'a
Sana'a
-Districts:*Al Wahdah District*As Sabain District*Assafi'yah District*At Tahrir District*Ath'thaorah District*Az'zal District*Bani Al Harith District*Ma'ain District*Old City District*Shu'aub District-Old City:...
, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, to Moroni
Moroni, Comoros
-References:...
, Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
, that crashed on 30 June 2009 at around 1:50 a.m. local time (22:50 on 29 June, UTC) while on approach to Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport
Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport
Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport is an international airport located in Moroni, Comoros.-Airlines and destinations:- Accidents and Incidents :...
, killing all but one of the 153 passengers and crew on board. The sole survivor, 12-year-old Bahia Bakari
Bahia Bakari
Bahia Bakari is a French schoolgirl who became world famous as the sole survivor of Yemenia Flight 626, an Airbus A310, which crashed into the Indian Ocean near the north coast of Grande Comore, Comoros on June 30, 2009, killing all other 152 people on board...
, was found clinging to wreckage, after floating in the ocean for thirteen hours. Bakari was released from the hospital on 23 July 2009, approximately one month after the crash.
Aircraft
The aircraft was an Airbus A310-324 twin-engine turbofanTurbofan
The turbofan is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used for aircraft propulsion. A turbofan combines two types of engines, the turbo portion which is a conventional gas turbine engine, and the fan, a propeller-like ducted fan...
, registration
Aircraft registration
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
7O-ADJ, manufactured in 1990 as serial number 535. It was in service for 19 years and 3 months, and had accumulated 51,900 flight hours on about 17,300 flights by the time of the accident.
Owned by the International Lease Finance Corporation
International Lease Finance Corporation
The International Lease Finance Corporation is an aircraft lessor headquartered in Century City, Los Angeles, California.It is the world's largest aircraft lessor by value, though ILFC's rival, General Electric's GECAS unit, has more aircraft...
(ILFC) the aircraft first entered service with Air Liberté
Air Liberté
Air Liberté was an airline in France founded in July 1987. Air Liberté was headquartered in Rungis. Airlib was headquartered in Orly Airport Building 363 in Paray-Vieille-Poste....
on 30 May 1990. After leases to successive operators it was leased to Yemenia
Yemenia
Yemenia , also known as Yemen Airways is the national airline of Yemen, based in Sana'a. It operates scheduled domestic and international passenger flights to destinations in Africa and the Middle East, as well as to Asia and Europe, out of its hubs at Sana'a International Airport, and Aden...
in September 1999, re-registered 7O-ADJ and remained in service with them until the accident.
Dominique Bussereau
Dominique Bussereau
Dominique Bussereau is a French politician, was Secretary of State for Transport within the government of François Fillon...
, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Minister of Transport, reported that the plane was inspected in 2007 by the French Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile
Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile
The Directorate General for Civil Aviation is the French civil aviation authority. It is headquartered in 15th arrondissement of Paris of Paris, 50, rue Henry-Farman. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing.The DGAC levys a civil aviation tax on...
and found to have a number of faults; however, since then the plane had not returned to France and consequently was not reinspected by the same authority.
Flight history
Most of the passengers originated from ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, who boarded Yemenia Flight 749, operated using an Airbus A330-200, with a stopover at Marseille Provence Airport
Marseille Provence Airport
Marseille Provence Airport or Aéroport de Marseille Provence is an airport located 27 km northwest of Marseille, on the territory of Marignane, both communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région of France...
in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where some more passengers and crew boarded. After arriving at Sana'a International Airport
Sana'a International Airport
Sana'a International Airport or El Rahaba Airport is an international airport located in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. The runway is shared with a large military base with several fighter jets and transport aircraft of the Yemeni Air Force.-Airlines and destinations:*Note: All flights operate...
in Sana'a
Sana'a
-Districts:*Al Wahdah District*As Sabain District*Assafi'yah District*At Tahrir District*Ath'thaorah District*Az'zal District*Bani Al Harith District*Ma'ain District*Old City District*Shu'aub District-Old City:...
, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, passengers transferred to an Airbus A310
Airbus A310
The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engine widebody jet airliner. Launched in July 1978, it was the second aircraft created by Airbus Industrie,a consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. the consortium of...
for Flight 626, which was due to arrive at Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport
Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport
Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport is an international airport located in Moroni, Comoros.-Airlines and destinations:- Accidents and Incidents :...
in Moroni
Moroni, Comoros
-References:...
, Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
, at 2:30 a.m. local time on 30 June.
The flight crew members, all Yemeni, were Captain Khalid Hajeb, First Officer Ali Atif, and Flight Engineer Ali Salem. Of the cabin crew, 3 were Yemeni, 2 were Filipino, 2 were Moroccan, 1 was Ethiopian, and 1 was Indonesian.
Accident
The crash occurred off the north coast of Grande ComoreGrande Comore
Grande Comore is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital...
, Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
, in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
several minutes from the airport. An unnamed United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
official at the airport said that the control tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
had received a notification that the plane was approaching to land before losing contact. There are unconfirmed reports that the plane had crashed after an aborted landing. There had been several days of inclement weather in the region at the time of the accident. An unseasonably strong cold front had moved through the Comoros Islands, bringing winds gusting to 64 km/h (39.8 mph; 32.7 kn) and conditions favorable for light to moderate turbulence. Yemeni civil aviation deputy chief Mohammed Abdul Qader said the wind speed was 61 km/h (37.9 mph; 31.1 kn) at the time the aircraft was landing.
Yemeni officials did not suspect foul play.
This was the third accident for Yemenia; the previous two were runway incursions with no fatalities, although one aircraft was written off. This was also the second major aircraft crash for Airbus within the same calendar month, following the 1 June crash of Air France Flight 447
Air France Flight 447
Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled airline flight from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Paris-Roissy involving an Airbus A330-200 aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009, killing all 216 passengers and 12 aircrew. The investigation is still ongoing, and the cause of the...
with 228 fatalities, also including numerous French citizens.
Search and recovery
According to the Comoran police, the nation possesses no sea rescue capabilities. Two French military aircraft and a vessel began the formal search for Flight 626. They were sent from RéunionRéunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
and Mayotte
Mayotte
Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...
. The Comoros consists of three volcanic islands, Grande Comore
Grande Comore
Grande Comore is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital...
, the main island; Anjouan
Anjouan
Anjouan is an autonomous island, part of the Union of Comoros. The island is located in the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Mutsamudu and its population as of 2006 is about 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 sq. kilometers Anjouan (also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani) is an autonomous island,...
; and Moheli
Mohéli
Mohéli, also known as Mwali, is one of the three islands which make up the nation of Comoros. Mohéli is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is by far the smallest of the Comoros islands. Its population, as of 2006, is about 38,000. Its capital city is Fomboni...
. It is located in the Mozambique Channel
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island nation of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar...
, 190 miles (305.8 km) northwest of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and a similar distance east of the African mainland. The wreckage was spotted off the coast of the town of Mitsamiouli
Mitsamiouli
Mitsamiouli is a city located on the island of Grande Comore in the Comoros.On 23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 made a crash-landing in the shallow waters 500 meters off shore from Le Galawa Beach Hotel in Mitsamiouli...
, including a few bodies and large amounts of floating debris in the ocean.
Survivor found
A 12-year-old girl was rescued after being spotted clinging to a piece of debris among bodies and wreckage. She was identified as Bahia BakariBahia Bakari
Bahia Bakari is a French schoolgirl who became world famous as the sole survivor of Yemenia Flight 626, an Airbus A310, which crashed into the Indian Ocean near the north coast of Grande Comore, Comoros on June 30, 2009, killing all other 152 people on board...
, a Franco-Comoran. She was picked up during rescue efforts by local fishermen and speedboats sent by authorities on Grande Comore. She had been holding on to wreckage for 13 hours. Bakari had been traveling with her mother, who did not survive. Bahia was released from the hospital in Paris on 23 July 2009 approximately one month after the plane crash.
Continued searches
The Yemeni government stated that five bodies were recovered at the same time that the lone survivor was rescued. Another 22 bodies were recovered from Mafia IslandMafia Island
Mafia Island is part of the Tanzanian Spice Islands, together with Unguja and Pemba. As one of the six districts of the Pwani Region, Mafia Island is governed from the mainland, not from the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, of which it has never been considered to be a part.According to the...
in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
during the second week of July 2009, and transferred to hospitals in Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
.
On July 5, 2009, the signals from the aircraft's flight recorder
Flight recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of an aircraft accident or incident. For this reason, flight recorders are required to be capable of surviving the conditions likely to be encountered in a severe aircraft...
s were detected. The French oceanographic vessel Beautemps-Beaupré
French ship Beautemps-Beaupré (2002)
The Beautemps-Beaupré is a ship of the French Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service, named after the hydrographer Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré. It replaced the Espérance, decommissioned in 2000. It was launched on 26 April 2002 and entered service on 13 December 2003....
arrived at the Comoros on 15 July 2009, and by 23 July 2009 had completed a mapping of the ocean floor around the crash area, which helped pinpoint the exact location of the recorders. Due to the great depth of the recorders' current location, the French navy had announced that it would employ underwater robots for the recovery operation, which began in August 2009. The flight data recorder
Flight data recorder
A flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...
was eventually recovered on 28 August from the Indian Ocean at a depth of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), while the cockpit voice recorder
Cockpit voice recorder
A cockpit voice recorder , often referred to as a "black box", is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents...
was recovered on 29 August.
Investigation
The Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile et de la MétéorologieAgence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie
The Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie de l'Union des Comores is the civil aviation authority of the Comoros. It is also in charge of investigating aviation accidents and incidents. Its head office is in Moroni.-External links:*...
of the Comoros is in charge of the investigation. The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile is an agency of the French government, responsible for investigating aviation accidents and making safety recommendations based on what is learned from those investigations. It is headquartered in Building 153 on the grounds...
(BEA) sent an investigative team, accompanied by Airbus specialists, to assist in the investigation of the causes. Yemen also sent a technical team to Moroni, while a committee, headed by the Yemeni Minister of Transport, has been formed. The preliminary findings of the investigation point to pilot error as the cause of the accident. There were objections from the Comoros and Yemeni authorities to suggestions that pilot error was the cause. In November 2009, Yemenia announced that they were looking for a third party to investigate the accident, accusing the French of attacking Yemenia "day and night" and of "harassment". Yemenia stated that the investigation was "affecting the reputation of Yemen".
Passengers and crew
There were 142 passengers and 11 crew aboard. Most passengers are believed to be either Comoran or FrenchFrench people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
nationals. There were also citizens of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Palestinians of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
on board the plane. An airport source has claimed that 66 of the passengers held French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
citizenship, but many of those could be dual French-Comoran citizens. Many may have been residents of Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, a French city with a large Comoran population, headed home for a vacation; the week of the accident marks the beginning of summer vacations for French school children. The two other persons on board were said to be Europeans. The three flight crew members were all Yemeni. Of the cabin crew, 3 were Yemeni, 2 were Filipino, 2 were Moroccan, 1 was Ethiopian, and 1 was Indonesian.
International reaction
: The French Transport Minister Dominique BussereauDominique Bussereau
Dominique Bussereau is a French politician, was Secretary of State for Transport within the government of François Fillon...
said "A few years ago, we banned this plane from national territory because we believed it presented a certain number of irregularities in its technical equipment." : The Yemeni Transport Minister Khaled Ibrahim al-Wazeer said, in response to Bussereau's comment, "It was a comprehensive inspection carried out in Yemen ... with experts from Airbus. It was in line with international standards." : The Comoran community in France organized a march in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, in tribute to the victims of Flight 626, with thousands (according to the organizers) attending. They also disrupted Yemenia flights, protesting in French airports against the airline's safety record and preventing passengers from boarding or checking-in. As a result, Yemenia canceled indefinitely all its flights to and from Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
and all additional flights between Sana'a and Moroni.
Burial and repatriation of bodies
As of Tuesday 1 December 2009, remains of nine crew members had been retrieved and arrived in Sana'aSana'a
-Districts:*Al Wahdah District*As Sabain District*Assafi'yah District*At Tahrir District*Ath'thaorah District*Az'zal District*Bani Al Harith District*Ma'ain District*Old City District*Shu'aub District-Old City:...
. The crew members found were Captain Khalid Hajeb, First Officer Ali Atif, the three Yemeni cabin crew members, the two Moroccan cabin crew members, and the Ethiopian cabin crew member. One cabin crew member, Hamdi Wazea, was buried in Sana'a
Sana'a
-Districts:*Al Wahdah District*As Sabain District*Assafi'yah District*At Tahrir District*Ath'thaorah District*Az'zal District*Bani Al Harith District*Ma'ain District*Old City District*Shu'aub District-Old City:...
, while the other Yemenis who were found were buried in Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
. The bodies of the Moroccans were sent to Morocco, while the Ethiopian was sent to Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
. The crew members who had not been found included Yemeni engineer Ali Salem, the two Filipino cabin crew members, and the Indonesian cabin crew members. In the last two days leading to 1 December, 54 bodies were buried in Moroni
Moroni, Comoros
-References:...
.
See also
- List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
- Air France Flight 447Air France Flight 447Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled airline flight from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Paris-Roissy involving an Airbus A330-200 aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009, killing all 216 passengers and 12 aircrew. The investigation is still ongoing, and the cause of the...
- Northwest Airlines Flight 255Northwest Airlines Flight 255Northwest Airlines Flight 255 was a flight that originated at MBS International Airport in Saginaw, Michigan, and was scheduled to terminate at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, with intermediate stops at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, near Detroit,...
- Kenya Airways Flight 507Kenya Airways Flight 507Kenya Airways Flight 507 was a scheduled Abidjan–Douala–Nairobi passenger service, operated with a Boeing 737-8AL, that crashed in the initial stage of its second leg on , immediately after takeoff from Douala International Airport...
External links
- News Flight 626 - Yemenia Airways
- "Accident de l'A310 de Yemenia Airways Commission d'enquête technique." - Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile et de la MétéorologieAgence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile et de la MétéorologieThe Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie de l'Union des Comores is the civil aviation authority of the Comoros. It is also in charge of investigating aviation accidents and incidents. Its head office is in Moroni.-External links:*...
- Flight IY 626 on 30 june 2009 - Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation CivileBureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation CivileThe Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile is an agency of the French government, responsible for investigating aviation accidents and making safety recommendations based on what is learned from those investigations. It is headquartered in Building 153 on the grounds...
- Accident d’un Airbus A310 de la compagnie Yemenia Airways - Direction Générale de l'Aviation CivileDirection Générale de l'Aviation CivileThe Directorate General for Civil Aviation is the French civil aviation authority. It is headquartered in 15th arrondissement of Paris of Paris, 50, rue Henry-Farman. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing.The DGAC levys a civil aviation tax on...