Antonov down.

[Saitek]

Doesn't sound too promising.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4689787.stm

Probably aren't servicing their aircraft properly and it wouldn't surprise me if their safety standards are not up to scratch.

[ozzy72]

Tilted down and crashed, could be anything, control failure, structural failure, being hit by a dirt great big bird!

[Saitek]

yeah, but this is E Guinea. I mean bribing is common with the passengers. Apparently they don't know how passengers they actually have. Just somewhere between 40 and 80!

[jordonj]

Yeah, but saying it's a mechanical failure is kinda judgemental.  ::)

You don't know what it is and shouldn't say so until you do!

[ozzy72]

Could be to many people on board, there was a similar case a few years back (I can't remember which African country) when the plane was loading to bursting and the pressure of people caused a door to pop off and people to be sucked out into the fresh air
Alas in these poorer countries things like consumer protection, safety etc are luxuries they can't afford

[Saitek]

The latest from Reuters.

Six of the 55 people on board were crew, officials said on Saturday.

Africa's airspace is notoriously dangerous compared to other parts of the world, with many airline companies suffering from chronic under-investment.

Despite accounting for just 3 percent of global airline traffic, last year the continent saw 27 percent of the world's fatal airliner accidents, according to the Dutch-based Aviation Safety Network.