A plane that crashed into a cemetery in Montana killing 14 people, half of them children, was overloaded, officials have said. Skip related content
Related photos / videos
Ski Trip Plane Crash: 'Jet Was Overloaded' The single engine turboprop aircraft should not carry more than 11 people - two in the cockpit and nine passengers - the National Transport Safety Board said.
But on the journey from Oroville, California, to Bozeman, Montana, too many people were on board.
At some point, the plane made a detour to Butte, where it crashed into the Holy Cross cemetery, about 500 feet (150 metres) short of the runway at Bert Mooney airport.
Seven adults and seven children were killed in the crash, said Karen Byrd, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operations officer.
Investigators believe the group were on a skiing trip.
Pictures from the scene showed towering flames shooting up behind the cemetery.
Onlooker Martha Guidoni, who took one of the photos, said: "We watched this plane just take a nosedive right into the cemetery."
She and her husband rushed to the scene of the crash to help those injured.
But she said: "We were too late. There was nothing to help."
Another witness Steve Guidoni said: "I looked to see if there was anybody I could pull out, but there was nothing there.
"I couldn't see nothing. Some luggage strewn around and fire. That was about it."
He said the plane left a hole 20 feet (six metres) deep in the ground.
:: Meanwhile, a FedEx cargo plane has crashed and burst into flames as it landed in heavy winds at Tokyo's international airport.
[get this widget]
0 comments:
Post a Comment