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Deadly Turkish plane crash probed | Deadly Turkish plane crash probed |
(about 16 hours later) | |
Investigations are continuing into what caused a Turkish Airlines plane to crash at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, killing nine people and injuring 86. | |
The plane, en route from Istanbul with 127 passengers and seven crew, crashed short of the runway on Wednesday. | 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 crew. Dutch officials said most of the passengers on board were Turkish. | Three of those killed were members of the crew. Dutch officials said most of the passengers on board were Turkish. |
Relatives of some of those killed have arrived in Amsterdam on a special Turkish Airlines flight from Turkey. | Relatives of some of those killed have arrived in Amsterdam on a special Turkish Airlines flight from Turkey. |
On Thursday investigators took detailed photographs of the wreckage in a bid to uncover what happened in the flight's final moments. | |
That so many people were able to walk out was truly remarkable Fred SandersDutch Safety Board class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7911228.stm">Making plane crashes less deadly | |
The flight data and voice recorders from the aircraft have been sent to Paris, where experts have specialist equipment to analyse them. | |
The Boeing 737-800 aircraft came down at 1031 local time (0931 GMT), several hundred yards short of the runway, about three hours after it left Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. | |
It broke into three pieces on impact. Most of those on board survived, although many were hurt. | |
Fire did not break out and within a minute those capable of walking began staggering out of the ruptured plane. | |
"It is a real wreck," said Fred Sanders, spokesman for the Dutch Safety Board. | |
"That so many people were able to walk out was truly remarkable. Some have called it a miracle," he added. | |
Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim also described the low death toll as a miraculous. | |
SCHIPHOL ACCIDENTS 27 October 2005: A fire at the airport's detention centre killed 11 people and injured 154 April 1994: Three people were killed and 13 seriously injured when a KLM flight carrying 24 people crashed on landing4 October 1992: An El Al Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed into an apartment block after takeoff, killing 43 people In pictures: Schiphol plane crashTurkish plane crash: witnesses | |
"The fact that the plane landed on a soft surface and that there was no fire helped keep the number of fatalities low," he said. | "The fact that the plane landed on a soft surface and that there was no fire helped keep the number of fatalities low," he said. |
Mr Sanders said the investigation at the scene of the crash would take a few days, after which the wreckage would be removed. A preliminary report could be released in weeks, he added. | |
Dutch health officials said on Thursday that 25 passengers had suffered severe injuries and that another six were in a critical condition. They are being treated at 11 hospitals in the area. | |
The Turkish transport ministry said 78 Turkish nationals and 56 people of other nationalities had been on board the plane. | |
Candan Karlitekin, head of Turkish Airlines' board of directors, said records showed the plane had been properly maintained. The pilot, a former Turkish air force officer, was highly experienced, he added. | |
'Suddenly descended' | 'Suddenly descended' |
Survivor Jihad Alariachi said there had been no warning from the cockpit to brace for landing before the ground loomed up through the mist. | |
How the Schiphol crash happened | |
"We braked really hard, but that's normal in a landing. Then the nose went up. And then we bounced... with the nose aloft," she said. | |
Another 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." | |
Witnesses on the ground described seeing the plane appear to glide through the air, having lost all propulsion, before hitting the ground and breaking into three pieces. | Witnesses on the ground described seeing the plane appear to glide through the air, having lost all propulsion, before hitting the ground and breaking into three pieces. |
Some passengers were able to climb out of the plane before rescue workers arrived. | |
The last crash involving a Turkish Airlines plane was in 2003, when at least 65 people died in an accident in eastern Turkey. | 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. | Schiphol airport has six runways and one major passenger terminal. In 2007, it handled 47 million passengers, ranking fifth in Europe. |