Colombia jet crash called a 'miracle'
<p>A police officer stands by a crashed plane sitting on the runaway at the airport on San Andres island in Colombia, Monday Aug. 16, 2010. The Boeing 737 operated by the airline Aires crashed on landing after departing from Bogota around midnight local time with 131 passengers. According to an Air Force official, at least one passenger died.</p>
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A Boeing 737 jetliner filled with vacationers crashed in a thunderstorm and broke apart as it slid onto the runway on a Caribbean island Monday. Only one of the 131 people on board died, and the island's governor called it a miracle.
The plane hit short of the runway on Colombia's San Andres Island and skidded on its belly as the fuselage fractured and bits of landing gear and at least one engine were ripped off. The jet wound up on one end of the runway, crumpled and in pieces, as passengers scrambled or were helped to safety.
Of the 125 passengers and six crew members aboard the Aires airline jet, the only one killed was a 68-year-old woman, Amar Fernandez de Barreto, said San Andres Gov. Pedro Gallardo.
"It was a miracle and we have to give thanks to God," Gallardo said.
Officials were investigating a range of possible causes and looking into reports that Aires Flight 8520 was hit by lightning before the crash on the resort island, Colombian air force Col. David Barrero said.
"You can't speculate. Lightning? A gust of wind? The investigation will say," Barrero said by telephone from San Andres. "The pilot's skill kept the plane from colliding with the airport."
Officials said 119 people were treated or checked at clinics and five of them were seriously injured.
The airline said at least five U.S. citizens were on the plane, while the U.S. Embassy in Colombia said that four Americans and one U.S. permanent resident suffered injuries. The embassy said one critically injured American was being flown to Bogota for care, while the others were treated and released.
Airline representative Erika Zarante said four Brazilians, two Germans, two Costa Ricans and two French citizens also were on the plane.
The accident occurred so suddenly that the pilot did not report an emergency to the control tower, said Col. Donald Tascon, deputy director of the civil aeronautics agency. He said the plane's low altitude as it prepared to land - perhaps 100 feet just before the crash - may have averted worse damage.