Cubana flight CU972 was carrying 104 passengers today enroute from Havana to Holguin, Cuba when it crashed not long after takeoff.
FlightAware says the plane was a 737 which surprised me because schedules suggest a 737 usually runs Mondays and Thursdays, and that Friday is generally an Antonov AN-158.
Credit: @MaestroDEPR)
#cuba #Havana #crash pic.twitter.com/ZmjUHW2kFY
— tinychiwa (@tinychiwa) May 18, 2018
The aircraft reportedly went down “near a motorway and a high school in the Boyeros neighborhood” next to the airport.
Airport staff were initially telling people that it was an American plane, however it’s since been learned this was not accurate.
Plane crash in Cuba, American flight crashed shortly after take off 😟 #cuba #planecrash pic.twitter.com/W4IuiIaF1K
— Matt Blakeley (@blakeley1990) May 18, 2018
My thoughts are with the families of the passengers and crew that were onboard.
That second pic in article (by tinychiwa) appears to be a separate incident: looks like the BA 777 engine fire a few years back at LAS. That’s def not a 737.
Yea I think @Sean is right. That tail looks to be BA.
Yes, not helpful posting bogus attention-seeking images from twats on social media.
As per airlinegeeks.com (https://airlinegeeks.com/2018/05/17/cubana-de-aviacion-grounds-its-antonov-158-fleet/), Cubana seems to have grounded their Antonov AN-158 fleet very recently due to maintenance issues. Probably that was the reason for using the 737 that day.
What’s ironic is that they ended up leasing a 737 because their planes have maintenance issues, but they lease it from an airline with maintenance issues.