ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 21, 1995 TAG: 9512210115
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
SOURCE: Associated Press
An American Airlines plane from Miami carrying about 150 people crashed Wednesday night as it was making its final descent toward the Cali airport in southwestern Colombia, radio reports said.
Residents said they saw a large explosion in the Andes mountains outside Cali.
Civil aviation authorities said 145 passengers and eight crew were aboard the Boeing 757 aircraft.
Flight 965 was flying over Buga, a town about 40 miles north of Cali, when it lost radio contact, officials said. Police said they received telephone calls from people in the area reporting an explosion.
Radio Caracol quoted a witness, Carlos Buitrago, as saying he saw the plane and then a huge fireball, apparently after it crashed.
More than three hours after the plane's scheduled 9:45 p.m. arrival, there was still no official word on the aircraft's fate.
Local authorities launched a search in the area where the plane disappeared, about 185 miles southwest of the capital, Bogota, but darkness and the mountainous terrain were likely to hinder rescue and recovery efforts until dawn.
There was no information on the flight immediately available from American Airlines, the Miami International Airport or the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Boeing 757-200 is a twin-engine, medium- to long-range jetliner that can carry up to 239 passengers. First flown in 1982, it has a range of 3,200 miles.
LENGTH: Short : 40 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB