Algerian PM blames bad weather for plane crash

Algiers: Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal has said the Air Algerie flight AH5017 crashed probably due to bad weather. The aircraft encountered complicated weather conditions, including thick clouds, strong wind and a sand storm, soon after takeoff, Xinhua quoted Sellal as saying Saturday.

There is no information to indicate that rebels in northern Mali, where the airliner crashed, were equipped with weapons capable of hitting the aircraft flying at an altitude of 10,000 metres, Sellal added. An analysis of the black boxes and the crash site could determine further causes leading to the crash. Both the black boxes of the aircraft have been retrieved by a French military unit and the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali. According to Sellal, the aircraft was checked days before the crash by French aviation mechanics and was "in good condition". Flight AH5017, flying from Burkina Faso`s capital Ouagadougou to Algiers, crashed Thursday morning in northern Mali with 116 people on board. None of the passengers from 16 countries survived.