Ambulance plane crashes at race track in Iceland, killing 2

AKUREYRI, ICELAND (BNO NEWS) -- A small ambulance plane crashed in front of spectators at a race track in northern Iceland on Monday afternoon, killing one of the pilots and a paramedic, local authorities said. It is unclear if the aircraft was attempting to make an emergency landing on the track.

The accident happened at around 1:30 p.m. local time on Monday when the Beechcraft B200 Super King Air, used as an air ambulance by local airline Myflug Air, was attempting to land at an airport near the northern town of Akureyri. The aircraft was returning back to its base after a medical call-out to transport a patient to Reykjavik, the nation's capital.

Police said the small aircraft, which was carrying a captain, first officer and a paramedic from the town's fire department, had aborted a first landing attempt and was circling over the town to prepare for a second landing attempt. It then lost altitude and crashed in front of spectators along a track where a car race was underway, causing debris to be thrown onto the track.

"One of the pilots and the paramedic were killed in the accident. The pilot who survived was not seriously injured," an Icelandic Police spokesperson said. None of the spectators or competitors in the race were injured, but the Red Cross was mobilized to offer counseling services to those who witnessed the crash.

"The auto club will be closed until the investigation at the scene has ended and the wreckage has been removed," the police spokesperson said, giving no details about what may have caused the crash. "The circumstances of the accident are currently under investigation by the police and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB)."

Myflug Air specializes in air ambulance and charter flights but also offers calibration and sightseeing flights. The Icelandic airline carries out approximately 400 to 500 ambulance flights a year, covering large parts of the country under a contract with the Icelandic Ministry of Health. It also handles a number of international air ambulance requests from Greenland.

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