Business jet crashes in western Germany, killing 4

[News_Editor]

TRIER, GERMANY (BNO NEWS) -- A German businessman and his wife were among four people killed on Sunday when a business jet flying from England struck an electricity pylon and crashed in western Germany, local police said. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

The accident happened just before noon local time when the Cessna Citation aircraft went down near a landfill while approaching Föhren airport, which is approximately 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) northeast of the border with Luxembourg. The business jet was carrying a businessman, his wife, and two pilots.

"The aircraft took off in southern England and was supposed to land at Föhren airport at noon. The Cessna Citation crashed in dense fog in an open area near a landfill at Sehlem before bursting into flames," a Rhineland-Palatinate police spokesperson said, adding that the aircraft struck an electricity pylon near a railway line.

The names of the victims were not immediately released, and it was not immediately clear whether all four victims were German citizens. "Four people were killed. They are a 61-year-old businessman from the region, his 60-year-old wife, as well as a pilot and co-pilot, whose identities have not yet been established beyond a doubt," police said.

The cause of Sunday's crash was also not immediately known, but the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU) will investigate.

(Copyright 2014 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].)