Sudanese plane crash result of US sanctions, says official

[Darranar]

http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=F76D4E9B-7512-4CF1-99DF425E3835539A

Sudan's Foreign Minister says Tuesday's plane crash which killed at least 115 people was the direct result of U.S. sanctions.

Mustafa Osman Ismail says the accident was caused by a lack of spare parts, which he says, were unavailable because of U.S. sanctions. The U.S. imposed sanctions on Sudan in 1997. It also remains on the U.S. list of nations that sponsor terrorism.

There has been no response from U.S. officials.

[LARED]

1. Hummm

Sanctions since 1997. They have been flying 737's without spare parts since 1997 and they claim the US is DIRECTLY responsible for the crash that happened today. No investigation, no inquiry, just a mass grave with the bodies. How convenient.

[bemildred]

2. Yeah.

I don't think they will get far with this line of thought.

[Darranar]

3. I am strongly against...

sanctions, because they almost always harm the people more than the government. However, I do believe that the Sudanese are wrong here.

[opiate69]

4. I can see it...

depending on which parts malfunctioned, and the aftermarket availability of that particular part. If this was an older 737-200, for instance, and one of the flight management computers went down, they would almost be forced to go to Honeywell to get a replacement, but Honeywell wouldn't be able to sell to them.

[Darranar]

5. So why did they fly the plane...

if they were missing parts?

[opiate69]

6. good question..

One possible answer is what is called the MEL, or Minimum Equipment List... these are manufacturer's guidelines which are authorized by the FAA which stipulate what components must be installed and working before the plane is cleared to take-off.
Another possible answer is that this airline was not operating under FAA authority.. you'd be surprised how many "3rd world" countries have airlines that don't follow FAA guidelines. Of course, at this point, it appears that the issue was most likely that a component was in need of replacement, but since no replacement parts were available, the airline's mechanics "fixed' the part as best they could. We'll know more when the final reports come in.