1h ago

Training aircraft crashes in Lebanon, three feared dead

Share
0:00
play article
Subscribers can listen to this article
(iStock)
(iStock)

A small training aircraft with three people onboard crashed on Thursday in Lebanon's mountainous Keserwan district, north of the capital Beirut, the country's aviation authority said.

Initial reports suggested the pilot and two passengers were killed, aviation sources said.

The Cessna 172 plane belonged to flight training firm Open Sky Aviation and had taken off from Beirut airport at 13:30 local time before crashing 20 minutes later in the village of Ghosta, the aviation authority said in a statement.

Open Sky could not immediately be reached for comment.

The public works and transport minister had formed a committee to investigate, the authority said.

"It was very foggy in the area ... the airplane hit rocks above a house," Ziad Maalouf, a local resident who was in the area and heard the crash, said. "After hearing the bang we ran out and we saw the remains of people."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. For only R75 per month, you have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. Journalism strengthens democracy. Invest in the future today.
Subscribe to News24