Investigators work near the smouldering wreckage of a Boeing 737 that plummeted into a yuca field near Havana just after takeoff with more than 100 passengers on board. Built in 1979, the plane was leased from a small Mexican company, Global Air, also known as Aerolineas Damoj. Global Air said the plane was flying with a crew of six Mexicans -- the pilot, co-pilot, three flight attendants and a maintenance technician. Global Air had the necessary permits to lease it, and had passed inspections in November last year, it said. Prior to Friday's crash, Cuba's most recent air accident occurred in April 2017, when eight military personnel died when a Russian-made AN-26 transport aircraft went down in western Cuba.

Source: Bangkok Post May 19, 2018 07:41 UTC