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Fatal air crash: plane was overloaded
Updated at 2:03pm on 28 November 2009
The final report into a plane crash that killed two people in Vanuatu last December has found it was overloaded.
The Vanuatu Daily Post reports the Air Vanuatu plane was carrying nine passengers when it crashed in West Santo.
The captain, John Banto, and one passenger died, while two passengers sustained serious injuries.
An investigation by New Zealand's Transport Accident and Investigation Commission has found the Britten-Norman Islander was overloaded by 7%.
It says this probably affected its climbing performance, forcing the pilot to land on the slope of a ridge.
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