Boy sole survivor of Libya airliner disaster

The Airbus A330 aircraft, operated by Libyan airline Afriqiyah Airways, crashed as it came in to land at Tripoli airport in Libya on Tuesday morning.

According to initial reports, the plane, which was travelling from Johannesburg, crashed as it neared the threshold of Tripoli International's main east-west runway, while preparing to touch down from the east.

Photos from the scene show only the tail wing was left intact.

Libya's transport minister Mohammed Ali Zaidan confirmed the Dutch boy escaped alive. He was taken to a hospital in Tripoli where he underwent surgery for fractures to both legs. Doctors said he was under intensive care but stable.

"The entire medical team are doing their best to assist in this tragedy," added a spokesman.

The Dutch government said 61 of the victims were from the Netherlands and a UK Foreign Office spokesman last night confirmed at least one British national was on board and officials were checking to see if any others were on the flight.

A further 22 passengers were from Libya. Some of those on board had been due to connect with a Tripoli flight which was scheduled to land at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex at 10.50am. A Dutch travel agency said many of its passengers were to due travel on another airline to Duesseldorf one of several hub airports for package tours.

Families of the victims were gathering in Brussels and Duesseldorf.

Afriqiyah said: "We are very sorry to announce the tragic loss of Afriqiyah Airways flight 8U771 from Johannesburg in an accident during landing at Tripoli international airport at 6am Tripoli time today.

"We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and friends of the victims. The search-and-rescue mission has now been completed and casualties have been moved to various hospitals. The secretariat of health will issue a statement on the condition of those casualties.

"Our prime objective is to prevent accidents from happening and every effort is being made to address any failure in our safety management system."

The weather at Tripoli's international airport was good at the time of the crash, with three-mile visibility, scattered clouds at 10,000ft and winds of only three miles per hour.

A spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency said Afriqiyah had undergone 10 recent safety inspections at European airports, with no significant safety findings. He said a team of French crash investigators was already on its way to Tripoli.

"We are currently talking to Airbus and with the French accident investigator BEA, which will be involved in the investigation," said Hoeltgen. "We will lend our support if this is required by authorities in charge."

Afriqiyah Airways is not included on the European Union's list of banned airlines. The list has nearly 300 carriers deemed by the EU not to meet international safety standards.

The main runway at Tripoli Airport is 3,600 yards long. International airport guides show it is not equipped with an Instrument Landing System which guides descending planes down to the threshold of the runway. But it does have two other systems in use worldwide – a high frequency directional radio system that pilots use to navigate their aircraft, and a non-directional beacon that also helps guide planes into the airport.

Afriqiyah Airways operates an all Airbus fleet. It was founded in April 2001 and is fully owned by the Libyan government.

The aircraft involved in the crash is thought to have made its first flight in August last year.

Crash casualties rose last year

Aviation experts say serious air crashes are rare but figures released in January showed the number of casualties rose last year.

There were 749 deaths in 2009 compared with 583 in 2008, statistics from Flight International magazine revealed.

Fatal accidents last year included the June 30 crash into the Atlantic of an Air France Airbus A330 with the loss of all 216 passengers and 12 crew.

156 passengers and 12 crew also died when a Caspian Airlines Tupolev plane crashed in Iran on July 15.

This year, Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and 94 others were killed on April 10 in a plane crash in Smolensk, Russia, en route to a Second World War remembrance ceremony.