Cuba crash airline under scrutiny over past safety concerns
The Mexican air charter company whose aging plane crashed in Havana will be subject to a thorough investigation after complaints of previous safety violations.
Mexico’s National Civil Aviation Authority will carry out a full audit of Damojh Airlines to see if its ‘current operating conditions continue meeting regulations.’
A Damojh Airlines Boeing 737 jet wet-leased to Cubana crashed shortly after take-off leaving 110 dead.
Just three onboard the plane survived.
The same plane was banned from Guyanese airspace last year after a flight was dangerously overloaded with luggage, Guyanese civil aviation director Capt. Egbert Field told the AP.
On one occasion, luggage was piled up in the plane’s bathroom, Field said.
Mexican authorities said Damojh had the necessary permits and had passed a safety audit in November 2017, but it will still conduct an investigation.
Cuban transportation minister Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez said Cubana had been leasing the plane for only a few weeks under an agreement that makes Damojh Airlines responsible for all maintenance issues.
"It’s normal for us to rent planes because it’s convenient and because of the problem of the blockade that we have. Sometimes we can’t buy the planes that we need, and we need to rent them," he said.
Ovidio Martinez Lopez, a retired pilot at Cubana posted on Facebook about another incident involving the company.
He wrote that two Damojh pilots were suspended several years ago after a flight disappeared from radar for ‘serious technical knowledge issues’ and Cuban authorities recommended Cubana to stop renting planes and crew from the company.
"They are many flight attendants and security personnel who refused to fly with this airline," Martinez wrote.
Minister Yzquierdo said the jet’s black box voice recorder had been retrieved and air accident investigators from Boeing are in Cuba to analyze it.
The Boeing 737 was made in 1979.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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