Beijing
Small plane crash-lands in west Japan, killing 3 aboard
www.chinaview.cn 2003-09-16 13:55

¡@¡@TOKYO, Sept. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- A single-engine propeller plane crash-landed Tuesday on the runway of an airport on one of the Tsushima Islands, west Japan's Nagasaki Prefecture, killing all three people on board.

¡@¡@The Sokata TB-21 plane took off at around 9:50 a.m. (0050 GMT) from Kumamoto airport in Kumamoto Prefecture, southeast of Tsushima, said officials of the Land, Infrastructure and TransportMinistry.

¡@¡@It crashed on a slope just before the runway at around 10:53 a.m. (0153 GMT) during a training session, they added.

¡@¡@The runway was closed and three officers from the ministry's Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission were on the scene to probe into the cause of the incident.

¡@¡@Local police also received a report saying that fire broke out when the plane crashed. Enditem ¡@


¡@Related Stories