One dead, three injured in Air France regional jet crash.

One dead, three injured in Air France regional jet crash.
AFP

A Brit Air CRJ-100, identical to the aircraft involved in Sunday’s crash, is seen Düsseldorf, Germany in this May, 2003 photo. (Fokker Aircraft/View Full Size)
An Air France aircraft carrying 21 passengers and three crew on a local flight has crashed near Brest in western France, leaving the pilot dead and three injured.

The CRJ-100 plane, on a flight operated by Brit Air from Nantes to Brest crashed at Saint-Divy, just 800 metres from the runway at Brest-Guipavas airport.

Fire raged through the aircraft, which was cut in two, after the crash just beside a house.

The 53-year-old pilot was killed in the accident while the co-pilot and two passengers were slightly injured.

The administrator gave no reasons for the crash, saying that there were “thunder clouds at 2,000 feet with a visibility of 800 metres”.

A passenger says the plane “caught fire very quickly”.

The forward door had been torn off, enabling the passengers to scramble out.

Several passengers spoke of possible pilot error. One said he had heard the co-pilot say: “I told him to turn up the throttle.”