Business jet crashes near airport in Germany, at least 3 dead

Business jet crashes near airport in Germany, at least 3 dead

2012-03-02 06:17:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

EGELSBACH, Germany (BNO NEWS) -- At least three people were killed on early Thursday evening when a business jet crashed near an airport in western Germany, police said. Two others are still missing.

The accident happened just before 7 p.m. local time when the Cessna Citation X aircraft was preparing to land at Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a busy general aviation airport southeast of Frankfurt Airport. The plane was carrying a pilot, co-pilot and three passengers on a flight from the Austrian city of Linz.

Police spokesman Josef Michael Rösch said the aircraft crashed and burst into flames in woodland near Autobahn 661, about 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) from the airport. "Police have cordoned off a wide area with the support of other forces," he said. "So far, three people have been found dead. The rescue trams are now looking for the other missing passengers."

Rösch said it was not immediately known what caused the deadly accident. "The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU) has taken over the investigation into the cause of the accident," the spokesman said.

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