Nine killed as Turkish 737 breaks up during Amsterdam landing
By David Kaminski-Morrow
At least nine people on board a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft have died after the twin-jet crashed on approach to Amsterdam Schiphol today.
Officials from Amsterdam Schiphol's operator add that 50 occupants were injured, about half of them seriously.
The 737 was operating flight TK1951 from Istanbul. A spokeswoman for the operator says the aircraft "crashed on landing". The airport is not closed, she says, but flights are limited.
Images from the scene show an aircraft in a field, broken into three sections. The jet, which Turkish Airlines has confirmed as an airframe manufactured in 2002, reportedly had been attempting to land on runway 18R.
Meteorological data around the time of the crash at indicates moderate visibility at the time, but no other significant weather conditions.
The cloud-base was low, overcast at about 700-800ft and mist reduced visibility at the airport to around 4,500m. Winds were from the southwest.
Turkish Airlines has clarified that there were 134 occupants on flight TK1951 from
“Our staff have been sent to the accident scene, and will do everything possible to assist the emergency services and local authorities,” it states.
