Cuban Boeing 737 Jet Crashes After Taking Off From Havana - Details
May 18 2018, Updated 5:48 p.m. ET
A Boeing 737 jet on a domestic flight crashed Friday afternoon shortly after taking off from Havana's José Martí International Airport.
It is feared that all 107 passengers and crew on the jet could have died as emergency authorities attend the scene.
The jet was reportedly a leased Cubana de Aviacion plane.
Aviation sources say the plane was traveling from Havana to Holguin when it went down about 1 1/2 miles from the Havana airport.
Firefighters raced to the scene and are trying to get the fire under control. A heavy police presence is also at the airport following the dramatic crash.
Witnesses revealed that they could see a thick column of smoke near the airport and pictures from the scene show the large plume of black smoke is clearly visible from the terminal.
Cubana de Aviacon has had to ground some of its older fleet due to safety issues, though the cause of this crash is so far unknown.
The same airline was involved in a crash back 2005 when it suffered a mechanical failure during take off in Caracas.
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