No survivors of mail plane explosion
4/05/2005 6:18:03
Police are urging residents near the site of a plane crash in Taranaki to check their properties for wreckage.
An Airworks Metroliner exploded over Stratford just after 10pm last night, killing both crew. The plane was on a regular mail run from Auckland to Blenheim when it burst into flames.
Local man Aaron McNabb saw the aircraft erupt in a fireball and heard a noise like a bomb going off. He watched as burning debris fell to the ground.
The wreckage has fallen on farmland bordering East and Standish roads. Police are asking property owners to check for debris.
The cockpit containing the bodies of the two crew has been found and is under police guard.
Air Traffic Control says the plane was at about 6,000 metres when it disappeared off radar.
Newstalk ZB
My thoughts are with the families and all the folk at Airpost as well as the unfortunate Taranaki controller that watched an aircraft disappear off the screen.
Last edited by Yankee_Doodle_Floppy_Disk; 3rd May 2005 at 20:18.