Air Zimbabwe plane crashes into pigs

by Dave on 06/11/09 at 1:56 pm

We haven’t written much about airlines in under-developed countries since there aren’t many headlines there. But this is certainly one piece of news worth reading. Pigs can’t fly but somehow an Xian Aircraft MA60 belonging to Air Zimbabwe has been damaged after it hit a pack of warthogs.

Transport Minister Nicholas Goche said in a statement Thursday that a plane headed from Harare to Bulawayo crashed on Tuesday after hiting warthogs. All 34 people on board were evacuated safely but the plane had extensive damage and remained grounded. Two of the passengers were injured, but the crew was unharmed.

Goche said the animals involved were warthogs but Mervyn Senior, owner of a gamepark sitting next to the airfield said the accident is due to small bushpigs.

“There are no warthogs around here,” he said, adding bushpigs are always a problem when an airfield is located next to wild areas. “You have to buzz the airfield two or three times before you land,” he said.

FYI, Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe and the accident occured on the country’s most important airport. No one knows what happened to the pigs after the incident. We pray for their safety.

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