The crash of Avianca Flight 52 on Long Island's North Shore, which killed 72 of the 161 people aboard, was the first major air disaster in the U.S. since the United Airlines DC-10 crash in Iowa last July that killed 111. But for Colombia's national airline, it was the third serious mishap in eleven months. Counting last November's terrorist bombing of a Boeing 727, the disasters have taken 279 lives.
Bogota's El Tiempo reported that poor maintenance had caused two near crashes in the past two months, prompting indignant pilots to send a letter of protest to Avianca management. The pilots...
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