SANAA, 2 April 2005 — A cargo plane skidded off runway as the pilot aborted takeoff at a Yemeni airport late Thursday, injuring eight crewmembers.
The accident occurred at Al-Rayyan International Airport in Mukalla, 800 km east of the capital Sanaa.
Eight crewmembers — six Russians and two Somalis — sustained injuries on board the Russian-made Antonov-12 operated by the Dubai-based RPS air freight company, an air traffic control official said. Their condition is not serious, according to airport officias.
The plane, bound for Dubai, came off the runway after the pilot aborted its takeoff, the airport’s director, Abdullah Al-Shabibi, told the official Saba news agency.
“The pilot lost control upon takeoff and the plane skidded off the runway,” he said.
The aircraft, which was carrying 17 tons of fish, stopped nearly 400 meters beyond the end of the runway. It was preparing to fly to Dubai after a short stop in Mukalla for refueling, the Yemeni official said.
The plane caught fire minutes after it came off the runway, but fire teams managed to put out the blaze, rescuers said.
One rescuer, who asked not to be named, told Arab News that the plane “sustained heavy damage” and that it could not fly.
The airport reopened for traffic early yesterday.
