A 747 headed for Miami crashed near the Colombian capital on July 7, 2008, killing two people on the ground.  Though none of the plane’s crew was reported killed, it was reported that a hospital director was in serious condition.

The accident was the second time in about six weeks that a Boeing 747, flown by Kalitta Air of Ypsilanti, Michigan, has crashed.  According to Donald Tascon, deputy director of Colombia’s civil aviation agency, the plane’s crew told air traffic controllers that one of the engines was on fire and seconds after, radio contact was lost.  The cause was under investigation. 

Madrid village Mayor Diego Humberto Sicard said the plane hit a ranch roughly 15 miles northwest of Bogota at 3:50 a.m.  The victims who died, Pedro and Edwin Suarez, lived in a small house on a ranch, said the mayor.

Kalitta Air Vice President Pete Sanderlin told the Associated Press that the plane, with its eight crewmembers aboard, had stopped in Bogota to pick up flowers and was scheduled to land in Miami at about 8:00 a.m.  Sandelin stated:

“We think all of the crew on board had various injuries, from slight to more serious injuries.  “We don’t know the extent of it yet.”

Two crew members were treated at a local hospital, while six others were sent to the Central Police Hospital in Bogota.  The director there, Col. Nader Lujan, told RCN radio that one, identified as Josephy Kendall, was in serious condition.