The Yemenia Airbus that crashed off the coast of the Comoros Islands Tuesday with 153 people on board had numerous faults and according to French transport minister the jet had been banned from French airspace because of irregularities, the AFP reported.

A few years ago, we banned this plane from national territory because we believed it presented a certain number of irregularities in its technical equipment, Dominique Bussereau told parliament.

The company was not on the blacklist (of airlines banned from European airspace) but was being subjected to closer inspection by us and was due to soon be heard by the security committee of the European Union, he said.

The Yemenia flight route originated in a Paris airport Monday when an Airbus A330-200 aircraft took off for Marseille to the Yemeni capital Sanaa where passengers transferred to an Airbus A310 destined for the Comoros via Djibouti.

The cause of the crash remains unknown but officials believe turbulent weather conditions may have contributed to the crash.