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The current spate of aviation disasters continues this week following news that two commercial pilots have died after losing control of their FedEx cargo plane while attempting to land at Japan’s Narita International Airport.
FedEx loses two pilots in horror crash at Narita International Airport. Image: FedEx.
Sensationally captured on a number of the airport’s security cameras, the inbound wide-body MD-11, completing a routine journey from Guangzhou, China, appears to slam down heavily on its rear landing gear before bouncing violently back into the air and rolling over onto its side.
With the plane lost to the American pilots within the cockpit, its underside is clearly visible for a fleeting moment before a wing impacts heavily with the runway and the doomed FedEx cargo flight breaks up amid a tail of blazing flame as its remaining fuel load ignites.
While a thorough investigation into the crash is likely, initial reports suggest the plane was lashed by extreme winds of up to 47mph while on its final approach to the airport.
Japanese broadcaster NHK has relayed that 54-year-old pilot Kevin Kylemosley and 49-year-old co-pilot Anthony Stephen-Pino were quickly pulled from the wreckage by airport rescue units and rushed to hospital. They were confirmed dead a short time later.
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