Halifax airport commemorates 10 years since deadly cargo jet crash

Investigators work in the debris field at the crash site of the MK Airlines 747 cargo jet near Halifax International Airport on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2004. Seven crew members died in the Oct. 14 crash. (CP PHOTO/Andrew Vaughan)

HALIFAX -- Flags are flying at half-mast today at the Halifax airport to mark 10 years since a cargo jet crashed during takeoff, killing seven crew members.

The British-based MK Airlines 747 went down just beyond the runway on Oct. 14, 2004.

The Boeing aircraft dragged its tail before breaking up and bursting into flames in a wooded area.

No one survived.

A lengthy investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada found that crew fatigue and inadequate software training led the crew to enter incorrect information and caused the plane to set the throttles too low for a good takeoff.

The Halifax Stanfield International Airport says a wreath-laying ceremony was held today at a monument erected near the site where the aircraft came to rest.