Zimbabwean MD-11 freighter crash at Shanghai Pudong kills 3

A McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 freighter operated by Zimbabwe's Avient Aviation has crashed during take-off from Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, killing three crew members and injuring four others.

The US-made aircraft was being used on a charter cargo flight from Shanghai to Bishkek, the capital of Kygyrzstan in central Asia. The plane was carrying seven crew.

"After the crash, three American crew members were reported dead and there were four people who sustained injuries," an unidentified official from Avient Aviation's headquarters in Harare was quoted as saying in a report by Harare's Sunday Mail

"Those injured are from the United States, Belgium, Indonesia and Zimbabwe," she added.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

The official said the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) was providing the carrier with assistance to determine the cause of the accident.

"We have met officials from CAAZ so that they assist us in carrying out investigations on what caused the accident," the official said, noting that it was the first time that one of Avient Aviation's aircraft had been involved in an accident.

"Our senior management is on their way to China to also determine what caused the crash and also to meet with those involved in the crash," she added.
 

Source: SchedNet