By Xinhua,
Beijing : US Continental Airlines flight crashed Thursday in suburban Buffalo in northern New York State, US, killing all 48 onboard and one on the ground. The following is a chronology of major air accidents worldwide in 2008.
On Feb 21, 2008, a passenger plane belonging to a Venezuelan airline company Santa Barbara crashed in the Venezuelan Andes just after takeoff. All 46 people on board were killed.
On April 15, 2008, a passenger plane crashed into a market in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing over 50 people.
On Aug 20, 2008, 154 people died and 18 were injured after a 15-year-old MD-82 plane of Spanair crashed on takeoff and burst into flames at Madrid’s Barajas.
On Aug 24, 2008, a Boeing 737-200 belonging to Kyrgyzstan’s private company Itek-Air crashed shortly after takeoff from Bishkek’s airport, leaving some 65 people dead and 22 injured.
On Sept 14, 2008, an Aeroflot Boeing 737 plane crashed in a ball of fire near the Ural mountains, killing all 82 passengers and six crew members on board.