Air Algérie says it does not suspect a terrorist attack as the cause of the crash of one of its Boeing 737-200s at Tamanrasset, southern Algeria on 6 March. The crash occurred at take-off, the aircraft veering away from the runway before impact, and 102 of the 103 people on board were killed, the airline confirms.
Witnesses say that an engine appeared to be on fire before the aircraft crashed "several hundred metres" further on, and the airline says there was "a mechanical problem on take-off". Air Algérie says: "There is no element that leads us to think there was a terrorist attack." At about 15:30 scheduled flight AH6289 was taking off from Tamanrassett bound for Ghardaia en route to the capital city Algiers, 1,400km (760nm) to the north, carrying 97 passengers and six crew.
The Pratt & Whitney JT8D-powered aircraft (7T-VEZ) was delivered new to Air Algérie in 1983 - making it one of the last737-200s built - and it was hushkitted in 2001 to comply with Chapter 3 noise regulations.
An Air Algérie 737-200 freighter crashed on final approach to Coventry Airport, UK in December 1994 in poor visibility.
Source: Flight International
