Nine dead in Turkish plane crash in Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM – A Turkish Airlines plane with 135 people aboard slammed into a field while attempting to land at Amsterdam’s main airport yesterday, killing nine people and injuring more than 50, the area’s acting mayor said.

The aircraft fractured into three pieces on impact. The fuselage split in two, close to the cockpit, and the tail broke off. One engine was visible lying almost intact near the wreck in the muddy field and the other was some 200 metres from the plane and heavily damaged, an Associated Press photographer at the scene said.
The airline had said at first that everyone survived. But at a news conference later, Michel Bezuijen, acting mayor of Haarlemmermeer, reported the fatalities.
‘At this moment there are nine victims to mourn and more than 50 injured,’ he said.
At least 25 of the injured were in a serious condition and that the injured included crew members and passengers alike.
He said there was no immediate word on the cause of the crash.
Candan Karlitekin, the head of the airline’s board of directors, told reporters in Turkey that visibility was good at the time of landing.
‘Visibility was clear and around 4 500 metres. Some 500 metres before landing; the plane landed on a field instead of the runway,’ he said.
‘We have checked the plane’s documents and there is no problem concerning maintenance,’ he added.
Turkish Airlines head Temel Kotil said the captain, Hasan Tahsin, is very experienced and a former air force pilot.
– Nampa-AP