Plane crashes in Japan & US

A plane has crashed at Tokyo's Narita airport an burst into flames. The McDonnell Douglas cargo aircraft came into land in high winds and appeared to bounce before exploding into flames. The resulting fire has almost completely destroyed the Fed-Ex cargo plane which had just completed a flight from Guangzhou in China. The fate of the two pilots on board the plane is as yet unknown [CNN].

In another incident a single propeller aircraft crashed in the town of Butte in the state of Montana, USA. At least 17 people have been confirmed dead and reports suggest many children were on board the plane. The crash happened at 15:27 local time [21:27 GMT] as the Pilatis PC-12 Swiss-made turboprop came into land [BBC / Sky News / CNN].

'Bomb alert' at Gatwick airport was hoax

Passengers have been evacuated from an Emirates plane as police investigate a suspect package. Details are sketchy but Sussex police have told news agencies that they are investigating reports of a suspect package on the plane at London’s Gatwick airport. Reports emerged at around 11:00 GMT, though news channels have been primarily focused on the death of reality TV star Jade Goody. CNN reports that the plane landed at 06.48 GMT following a flight from Dubai and is currently in a holding area.

Update: Police investigating the suspicious package later said the incident was a "hoax". A man in his 20s was arrested following the alert which resulted in 184 passengers being evacuated. The search for a device was instigated after a passenger found a note and alerted authorities [BBC].

Pilots amongst nine dead in Schiphol crash

A total of nine people died in the plane crash which occured on Wednesday morning. At least 84 people were injured in the disaster, though authorities say only a few are life threatening. Air accident investigators have recovered both the data and voice recorders from the stricken aircraft which came down as it was approaching Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. There is no word as to the cause of the crash. Amongst the dead were the pilot, himself a former Turkish airforce pilot, and his co-pilot [Sky News / BBC / CNN].

Reports of 5 dead in Schiphol plane crash

There is conflicting information as to the number of fatalities following the crash of flight TK-1951. Turkish authorities in Istanbul have told reporters that there are no deaths though some reports suggest five people may have died. There was no fire after the aircraft belly flopped into a field near to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam and was described by CNN’s Richard Quest as a “survivable” crash. The plane, a 737-800, broke into three parts as it hit the ground and many passengers have told of their being able to just walk from the wreckage. Others however have been trapped in the stricken plane and dozens of paramedics could be seen carrying injured passengers to awaiting ambulances. One passenger said there was “no time to panic” whilst another spoke of the plane crashing tail first with the incident lasting only a few seconds. The pilot of the Turkish Airlines plane was an ex-Turkish airforce pilot.

A CEO from Turkish Airlines told reporters that the plane had been built in 2002 and received a full inspection in 2008. He said that it was too early to speculate the cause of the crash until all the facts were known.

Details as to the numbers of casualties are sketchy at best. There were 127 passengers and 7 crew on board and many have escaped unhurt. But there is no clear information as to how many people are injured and to the extent of the injuries. Dutch television have reported that five people have died, though this has not been confirmed officially.

Sky News, BBC, CNN and al Jazeera have switched to saturation coverage of the incident. The news broke within thirty minutes of the crash but pictures did not start to filter into the television networks until 45 minutes after the crash. Nearly two hours after the incident occurred the BBC have cut away to cover other stories. France 24 provided only a short bulletin on the hour and both Russia Today and Press TV have continued with regular programming.

In the last few minutes al Jazeera played out some audio from Air Traffic Control at the time of the incident though it has shed little light as to the cause. Weather is not thought to be a factor with only light mist surrounding the airport. Accident investigators that have been willing to comment say the cause was probably technical. In January last year a Boeing 777 crash landed at Heathrow. The cause of that incident was believed to be due to ice build up in the fuel lines resulting in a sudden loss of power as the plane came into land [British Airways Flight 38 / tvnewswatch].

[Sky News / BBC / CNN / al Jazeera]

Sri Lanka's Int. airport shut after bombing

A Tamil Tiger rebel plane has been downed by the Sri Lankan government The light aircraft had earlier bombed a government building setting it on fire and causing power outages in the city of Colombo. The plane subsequently crash in the grounds of Colombo’s International Airport forcing its closure as a “precaution” according to authorities. A government spokesman said up to 38 people were injured in the bomb attack and told al Jazeera that a second plane was being pursued. The pilot’s body was recovered from the first single engine aircraft according to authorities [BBC / CNN / al Jazeera].

Iraqi doctor guilty of terror attacks

A 29 year old Iraqi doctor has been found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of launching terrorist bomb attacks in mainland Britain.
Bilal Abdullah and his accomplice had attempted to launch attacks in both London and Glasgow. Kafeel Ahmed and Bilal Abdullah had bought second hand cars and DIY supplies to construct their car bombs. Receipts and CCTV footage showed they had visited several B&Q stores and bought nails and other materials. Police believe they bought at least 5 vehicles to launch their attacks which began with London.

On the 29th June 2007 the two men arrived in the West End of London with their bomb laden cars. One was parked directly outside the Tiger Tiger night club while the other was left a short distance away. But both devices failed to explode and the terrorists fled to Scotland where they prepared for the attack on Glasgow airport. But for the two terrorists it went tragically wrong as they crashed their vehicle into the terminal building on the 30th June. As the vehicle became engulfed in flames Kafeel Ahmed himself caught fire and later died from his injuries. Bilal Abdullah survived to face trial and faces a life sentence in prison.

Karen Jones of the CPS said people at the airport and in London were lucky the bombs did not explode properly. She said the men’s intention was to kill and maim as many people as possible. However their incompetence saved many people’s lives. Dr Sidney Alford, an explosives engineer, speaking to the BBC described the terrorists’ bomb making skills as “amateurish” [BBC / CNN]. Another NHS doctor, Mohammed Asha, was cleared of helping the two terrorists.