I've flown on this exact aircraft. While traveling Burma, I took a couple of flights on Air Bagan. They only have two aircraft, a couple of aging Fokker 100's. One is an AGF and the other is an AGC. I remember on our final flight when we were headed toward Laos, my buddy and I noted we were flying on their second aircraft and joked that we had now flown the airline's complete fleet. Anyway, one of those planes crashed yesterday. Miraculously only two people were killed ... one was a passenger and the other was a motorcyclist on the ground (is that sucky luck or what?). Considering there were 65 passengers plus the crew ... I'd say this was a bit of a "Christmas Miracle". Unfortunately, the only fatality on the plane itself was an 11 year old child.
I will say, when flying Air Bagan, we both found the crew of those aircraft to be surprisingly professional and felt very safe and comfortable even though Myanmar is still in the dark ages technologically speaking and these planes are both between 20 and 25 years old (and no longer manufactured). The cause of this crash is confusing right now. Some reports talk of an engine fire and an emergency (crash) landing ... other reports say there was heavy fog and a road was mistaken for the runway (it crashed on a road 3 miles short of the runway and the airport has VERY little in the way of beacons/navigational aids). At any rate, I can't believe only one person on this plane was killed.
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