Authorities ban Antonov flights after crash

Angola’s civil aviation authorities ordered the grounding on Thursday of all the country’s Russian-built Antonov aircraft, with the exception of military planes, Lusa reported. The order came a day after the second crash of an Antonov in two weeks. In Wednesday’s crash, a private Asa Pesada company Antonov 24 went down moments after take off from the capital Luanda on a flight to the southern city of Namibe, killing all passengers and crew. Officials said between 40 and 50 people had been aboard the aircraft. In a communique issued in Luanda, the National Civil Aviation Directorate indefinitely banned all flights of the country’s Antonov aircraft, specifically naming the models AN12, AN24, AN26, AN30 and AN32. The ban was an extension of a prohibition on Antonov flights into the Angolan interior, following the 31 October crash of an Antonov cargo plane shortly after take off from northeastern South Lunda province. UNITA rebels later claimed they had shot down that plane, killing all 44 people aboard. But there has been no independent confirmation of the claim.