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Page last updated at 14:10 GMT,
Wednesday, 25 February 2009

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Turkish plane crash in Amsterdam

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Emergency crews were at the scene in minutes

A Turkish Airlines plane has crashed on landing at
Amsterdam's Schiphol international airport, killing nine people and
injuring more than 50.

The plane, with 128 passengers and seven crew, crashed short of
the runway near the A9 highway. It broke into three pieces, but did
not catch fire.

Witnesses spoke of seeing at least 20 passengers walking from the
wreckage of Flight 1951.

Officials said it was unclear why the plane, en route from
Istanbul, crashed.

There were conflicting reports initially about the number of
dead, but at a press conference at Schiphol a couple of hours after
the crash, the airport director confirmed that nine people had died.

SCHIPHOL ACCIDENTS

27 October 2005: A fire at the
airport's detention centre killed 11 people and injured
15

4 April 1994: Three people were killed
and 13 seriously injured when a KLM flight carrying 24 people
crashed on landing

4 October 1992: An El Al Boeing 747
cargo plane crashed into an apartment block after takeoff,
killing 47 people

In
pictures: Schiphol plane crash

Turkish
plane crash:
witnesses

The incident happened at 1031 local time (0931 GMT).

Michel Bezuijen, mayor of the Haarlemmermeer municipality under
which Schiphol airport falls, said 25 of those hurt were seriously
injured.

They included both passengers and crew, he told a news
conference.

Candan Karlitekin, head of Turkish Airlines' board of directors,
told reporters in Turkey that visibility had been good at the time
of landing.

"We have checked the plane's documents and there is no problem
concerning maintenance," he is quoted as saying by the Associated
Press news agency.

One passenger aboard the plane, Kerem Uzel, told Turkish news
channel NTV that the plane's landing had been announced when they
were at an altitude of 600m (2,000ft).

"We suddenly descended a great distance as if the plane fell into
turbulence. The plane's tail hit the ground... It slid from the side
of the motorway into the field."

White sheets

Schiphol Airport spokesman Rudd Wecer earlier told BBC News that
the plane came down a couple of hundred metres short of a runway, in
normal weather conditions.

Emergency services reached the site quickly, he added.

How the
Schiphol crash happened

Television
footage showed rescue workers laying out white sheets on what
appeared to be bodies.

The injured people were being taken to Spaarne hospital, in
Haarlem, close to the airport, while relatives of passengers were
assembled in a sports hall at a nearby village.

Thomas Freidhoff, a student who was cycling past the scene, told
BBC News he had seen the plane appearing to glide through the air,
having lost all propulsion, before hitting the ground.

"The plane was nose up and the tail section was at a 45-degree
angle. The tail section broke down first, which broke off," he said.

"And seconds after the crash people started exiting through the
tail section...

"I saw dozens of people making it out very quickly, and as I was
about to dial 911 the first sirens were noticeable, and within five
minutes there were 10 or 15 ambulances."

A witness who was driving past the airport moments after the
crash told BBC News he saw the plane lying in a field just 60m from
the A9 motorway, surrounded by large clouds of brown dust and grey
smoke.

"I saw the plane lying there in three pieces," said Nikolai van
der Smagt, who works for a telecom company near Schiphol airport.

"The first people were just getting off the plane and they looked
confused. There was a lot a dust, but no fire."

'Lot of sirens'

Resident Jonathan Nip described the scene: "What I'm seeing now
is the whole of the aeroplane - without any wings or front or rear
end - is lying in the field and there are about 50 ambulances, a lot
of fire trucks, a couple of helicopters, emergency helicopters, a
lot of police, a lot of sirens.

"The highway which is running next to the crash site is closed
right now because of the traffic that has stopped to watch the
crash."

All flights were suspended, but the airport has since re-opened.

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft left Istanbul's Ataturk Airport at
0822 (0622 GMT).

The last crash involving a Turkish Airlines plane was in 2003
when at least 65 people died in an accident in eastern Turkey.

Schiphol airport has six runways and one major passenger
terminal. In 2007, it handled 47 million passengers, ranking fifth
in Europe.

Did you witness the crash? Are you in the area?

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SEE ALSO

Turkish plane
crash: witnesses
25 Feb 09 |
Europe

In
pictures: Schiphol plane crash
25 Feb
09 |  In Pictures

Air disasters
timeline
13 Feb 09 |  Special
Reports

How the
Schiphol crash happened
25 Feb
09 |  Europe

How
to survive a plane crash
03 Oct
06 |  Magazine

RELATED INTERNET LINKS

Schiphol Airport

Turkish Airlines

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external
internet sites

FROM OTHER NEWS SITES

CBC 9
die as Turkish flight crashes at Amsterdam airport - 21
mins ago

Ananova Nine
killed as plane crashes - 24 mins ago

Reuters TIMELINE:
Turkish plane crashes at Schiphol Airport - 25 mins
ago

Sydney
Morning Herald Nine dead in Turkish Airlines
crash - 28 mins ago

New
York Times 9 Dead as Turkish Plane Crashes Near
Amsterdam - 48 mins ago

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