Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
By The Associated Press on May 9, 2024.
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) – A Boeing 737 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal’s capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire. “Our plane just caught fire,” wrote Malian musician Cheick Siriman Sissoko in a post on Facebook that showed passengers jumping down the emergency slides at night as flames engulfed one side of the aircraft. In the background, people can be heard screaming. Transport Minister El Malick Ndiaye said the Air Sénégal flight operated by TransAir was headed to Bamako, in neighboring Mali, late Wednesday with 79 passengers, two pilots and four cabin crew. The injured were being treated at a hospital, while the others were taken to a hotel to rest. No other details were immediately available. Boeing did not respond to a request for comment. The Aviation Safety Network, which tracks airline accidents, published photos of the damaged plane in a grassy field surrounded by fire suppressant foam on X, formerly known as Twitter. One engine appeared to have broken apart and a wing was also damaged, according to the photos. ASN is part of the Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit group that aims to promote safe air travel and tracks accidents. 8-7
