Algerian Air Force Il-76 crashes, kills 257

[Greg]

The crash of a military transport plane that killed 257 people on Wednesday was Algeria’s deadliest ever, compounding the woeful air safety record of an insular country where there has been little accountability for such disasters in the past.

A Russian-built Ilyushin plane carrying soldiers and civilians slammed into a field moments after it took off from Boufarik military base, about 15 miles southwest of the capital, Algiers. The plane exploded into flames, sending black smoke billowing into the air. Only a handful of people survived.

NY Times