Bocas Del Toro Panama Airplane Crash Friday Night With 35 Passengers On Board -

(MENAFN- Newsroom Panama) Panama: An Air Panama Fokker 50, registration HP-1899PST performing flight 7P-982 from Panama City to Bocas del Toro (Panama) with 35 passengers and 3 crew, skidded off the runway and crash landed. The crash occurred at the Captain José Ezequiel Hall Airport, on Colón Island, Bocas del Toro. The plane landed on runway 27 just after 10pm Friday night May 16th but veered off the runway and came to a crash landing after colliding with vegetation about 1000 meters/3300 feet down the runway.

The aircraft sustained substantial damage beyond repair. Panama's AAC confirmed the accident, stating that all 35 passengers and 3 crew were not seriously injured. An investigation has been opened. This airport has a 1500 meter runway, and only 26 meters wide. Heavy rain was most likely the cause of the crash landing. We currently are facing thunderstorms and heavy rains in Panama as we are beginning the rainy season. It was reported that kids were on the runway playing soccer 5 minutes before the plane landed.

The Civil Aviation Authority (AAC) reported that the two black boxes from the Air Panama plane that crashed on Friday, May 16, at the Captain José Ezequiel Hall Airport on Colón Island, Bocas del Toro, have been recovered. Mr. Bárcenas, pictured above, indicated that the contents of the black boxes will be analyzed. He added that both airline pilots have already given statements to the accident investigation committee, and neither reported the presence of people on the airport runway, ruling this out as a possible cause of the plane crash.

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