Four injured in South Africa plane crash

[Pieter C. 5]

Four Injured In South Africa Plane Crash

 

September 24, 2009

 

A Jetstream 41 commercial plane with three crew members on board crashed near Durban Airport in South Africa on Thursday, the airline Airlink said.

 

South African airline Airlink said in a statement the condition of the crew members was not yet known although local media reported they were critically injured.

 

SAPA news agency said one person who was on the school grounds were the plane attempted to land was also injured. The school was closed for holidays.

 

"The aircraft, a Jetstream 41 with 29 seats, departed from Durban International Airport and shortly after take-off declared an emergency, crew reported engine loss and smoke from the rear of the aircraft," Airlink, which partners with South African Airways, said.

 

"The aircraft ditched approximately 400 metres off the airport in the fields of a school on the Bluff and broke into 3 pieces."

 

The plane had been on a "technical positioning flight" to Pietermaritzburg, about 90 kilometres west of Durban.

 

(Reuters)