AMSTERDAM – Investigations are continuing into what caused a Turkish Airlines plane to crash at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, killing nine people and injuring 84, six of whom are in a critical condition.
Turkish Airlines authorities in Istanbul initially indicated that there had been no fatalities despite graphic evidence from CNN and BBC World live pictures showing bodies being removed from the stricken aircraft and covered with white sheets.
The plane, en route from Istanbul with 127 passengers and seven crew, crashed short of the runway on Wednesday.
Three of those killed were members of the flight deck crew.
The fact that the plane did not catch fire has persuaded some commentators to question how much fuel was onboard the aircraft.
This is the fourth serious accident since August 2008, when a Spanair MD-80 crashed on take off at Madrid; the others being the Hudson River crash and the fatal Continental Airlines crash at Buffalo, New York on February 12.
The Turkish transport ministry said the Amsterdam flight carried 78 Turkish nationals and 56 people of other nationalities.
The flight data and voice recorders from the aircraft have been found and have been sent for expert analysis.
The Boeing 737-800 aircraft came down several hundred metres from the runway and broke into three pieces on impact.
News of the crash broke first on Twitter, the social media site.
More about this in tomorrow’s newswire.
