ITALY: ALL 46 PASSENGERS AND CREW DIE AS ROMANIAN CHARTER PLANE CRASHES ON TAKE-OFF FROM VERONA

Record ID: 584620

  • Title: ITALY: ALL 46 PASSENGERS AND CREW DIE AS ROMANIAN CHARTER PLANE CRASHES ON TAKE-OFF FROM VERONA
  • Date: 13th December 1995
  • Summary: VERONA, ITALY (DECEMBER 13-14, 1995) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) (DECEMBER 13, 1995) 1. SV NIGHT VIEWS OF BURNING PLANE WRECKAGE/ RESCUE WORKERS AT SCENE (2 SHOTS) 0.11 2. SV TAIL OF PLANE/ SMOKE BILLOWING/ FIRE TRUCK AT CRASH SCENE 0.57 3. SV SMOULDERING FUSELAGE/ SNOW FALLING 1.08 4. SV EMERGENCY SERVICES AT SCENE/ AREA CORDONNED OFF 1.14 5. SV COFFINS ON GROUND AT CRASH SITE 1.30 6. SV PAN FROM EMERGENCY SERVICES TO BURNING WRECKAGE 1.46 7. SV MORE COFFINS/ PAN TO FIRE TRUCK 1.58 8. SV WRECKAGE OF PLANE FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES 2.10 9. SV BURNING WRECKAGE 2.23 10. SV EXTERIOR OF AIRPORT TERMINAL 2.30 11. SV INTERIOR OF AIRPORT TERMINAL/ CHECK-IN FOR FLIGHTS TO ROMANIA/ PEOPLE STANDING AROUND (3 SHOTS) 2.44 (DECEMBER 14, 1995) 12. SV DAYLIGHT VIEWS OF WRECKAGE IN THE SNOW 2.52 13. SCU FARMER VINCENZO CUNEGATTO SAYING I WAS HAVING DINNER WHEN I HEARD A BIG NOISE COMING FROM A PLANE. IT WAS A STRANGE NOISE, NOT NORMAL, AS WE HEAR EVERY DAY. WE CAME OUT TO SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING. I LOOKED AND SAW FLAMES HIGH IN THE SKY. I WENT THERE, NOT TOO CLOSE AS I WAS AFRAID THE PLANE MIGHT EXPLODE I WAS LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO COME OUT OR CALL FOR HELP (ITALIAN) 3.23 14. SV WRECKAGE WITH POLICE 3.33 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
  • Embargoed: 28th December 1995 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: VERONA, ITALY
  • City:
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVA1UPES5TKYUEBBVOOGFB72SEUZ
  • Story Text: All 49 passengers and crew were killed when a Romanian charter plane crashed and burst into flames minutes after take off from Verona airport in northern Italy on Wednesday (December 13) night.

    Thirty-four of the victims, many of them charred beyond recognition, were Italian businessmen, and the rest Romanians and one citizen of former Yugoslavia.

    The Russian-built aircraft, a twin-prop Antonov 24 operated by the Romanian charter service Banat Air Transport, was on a three-times-a-week flight from Verona's Villafranca airport to Bucharest via the western Romanian city of Timisoara.

    The plane, which took off two hours late with 41 passengers and eight crew, suddenly plunged to the ground from an altitude of 150 metres (500 feet) as it was about to bank right.

    The cause of the crash is not known yet but Romania's chief air accident investigator said on Thursday that terrorism had been virtually ruled out.

    The airport director said it seemed like the plane did not explode in flight but burst into flames when it hit the ground.

    Weather conditions had been suitable for flying despite snow.

    Only the tailpiece and a few other sections of the plane were recognisable in the wreckage strewn over a 200 metre area. The plane came down amid fruit trees about 250 metres (yards) from the nearest house.

    Rescue workers, hampered by mud, snow and strong winds, worked through the night recovering corpses and parts of bodies.

    Three rows of wooden coffins were lined up at the crash site, where officials said 25 bodies had so far been recovered.

    The crash was the second major accident involving a Romanian carrier this year. On March 31 a Tarom airlines Airbus A310 crashed just after take-off from Bucharest's Otopeni international airport, killing all 60 passengers and crew.


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