A Turkish Airlines flight has crashed into farmland just short of Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, killing nine people and injuring a further 50.

The Boeing 737-800, with 128 passengers plus seven crew members on board, crashed in a field near a motorway and broke into three pieces. However worse casualties were avoided because fire did not break out. “As far as we know there are nine people dead and more than 50 injured,” said Michel Bezuijen, acting mayor of Haarlemmermeer. “We can’t tell you anything about how it happened.”
There was no immediate news on what caused the crash, which happened in slightly misty weather with little wind, and a terrorism attack has been ruled out.
The plane was said to have a full and up-to-date maintenance record. “We have checked the plane’s documents and there is no problem concerning maintenance,” said Candan Karlitekin, the head of the airline’s board of directors. He added that visibility had been good at the time of landing.
Temel Kotil, the chief executive of Turkish Airlines, said that Hasan Tahsin, a former air force pilot who was captaining the crash plane, was very experienced.
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