Wednesday February 23 1:59 PM ET EgyptAir Jet Hits Runway in Zimbabwe By ANGUS SHAW Associated Press Writer

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - An EgyptAir Boeing 767 slammed into a runway with such force while landing in a windstorm that an engine dropped off a wing and the nose gear collapsed, witnesses and officials said Wednesday.

None of the 76 passengers or 10 crew members aboard Flight MS880 was hurt during the Tuesday night landing. But eight passengers were slightly injured while evacuating from the crippled aircraft, the airline said in a statement Wednesday from Cairo.

It was the second accident involving one of EgyptAir's Boeing 767s in four months. On Oct. 31, an EgyptAir Boeing 767 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern United States, killing all 217 people aboard. Authorities are still investigating that crash.

Witnesses to Tuesday's accident said the plane appeared to judder on its approach into Harare's airport. As it landed, the left engine dropped off onto the tarmac in flames, punching a crater into the runway.

The left wing then touched the runway, and the nosewheel collapsed, a witness said on condition of anonymity. The tarmac was strewn with debris.

Despite losing an engine during the landing, ``the pilot was able to maneuver the plane back onto the runway and make a safe stop,'' the airline statement said.

Emergency services doused the burning, dislodged engine, the Zimbabwe news agency said.

It was still unclear what went wrong during the flight's scheduled landing at Harare airport. The flight was on its way to Cairo from Johannesburg, South Africa, in bad weather with high cross winds, the airline said.

The news agency said the plane had attempted to land on a runway lacking standard International Landing System lighting and navigation guides.

The airliner was sending a team of investigators to examine the causes of the accident.

The accident forced Zimbabwe's main international airport to close until midmorning Wednesday. Incoming flights were rerouted to the city of Bulawayo

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000223/wl/zimbabwe_crash_landing_2.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), February 24, 2000