Cuba plane crash probe continues: officials

Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-18 04:50:57|Editor: yan
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HAVANA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The investigation into the causes of the May 18 plane crash in Cuba that killed 112 people continues, Cuban officials said on Tuesday.

The statement by a special commission set up by Cuba's government to look into the circumstances of the crash came a day after the Mexican company that owned the aircraft announced pilot error was to blame.

"On Monday we heard the international media reporting 'speculations' about the causes of the regrettable accident... near Havana's Jose Marti International Airport," the commission said.

"A process of this magnitude requires the analysis of multiple factors and has not yet concluded. That is why any statement about the possible causes of the fatal accident is still premature," the commission added.

The commission said it was still analyzing evidence gathered at the site of the crash.

On Monday, Mexican charter airline Global Air said investigations concluded pilot error was to blame for the accident that killed all but one of the people on board, including the six-member Mexican crew.

Data retrieved from the plane's black boxes showed "the crew took off at a very pronounced angle, creating a lack of lift that led to the aircraft's crash," the company's general director, Manuel Rodriguez Ocampo, said in a three-page statement posted on social networks.

The Boeing 737 crashed and burst into flames shortly after taking off around noon on its way to eastern Holguin province.

The aircraft flew for Cubana airlines but was leased from Global Air, complete with a pilot, copilot, technician and flight attendants.

Nearly all of the victims were Cubans, with the exception of a handful of foreigners.

Mexico's Ministry of Communications and Transport also responded to the company's statement, saying the investigation was ongoing and that only Cuba's Civil Aviation Institute had the authority to determine the causes of the accident.

The commission includes high-level Cuban, Mexican and U.S. aviation experts.

Global Air has operated charter flights and aircraft rentals nationally and internationally since 1990, according to information supplied by the Mexican government.

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