Air Midwest Beech 1900 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina

from BBC News online

A commuter plane has crashed shortly after take-off in the US state of North Carolina.
The number of casualties is not yet known, although it is feared that all on board – believed to be 19 passengers and two crew members – have been killed.

There are also reports that two people are missing on the ground.

Witnesses reported seeing Air Midwest Flight 5481 suddenly lose altitude shortly after take off.

It then veered slightly, clipping the side of an airport hangar and flipping onto its back before crashing into the ground at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

“The plane is so destroyed there’s not much to see,” police spokesman Keith Bridges told the Associated Press news agency.

“The debris is in such bad shape.”

Airport closed

The plane was on its way to the town of Greenville-Spartanburg when it crashed at around 0845 local time (1345 GMT).

Spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration Laura Brown told the Associated Press news agency that they did not know if the pilot had not reported any trouble to the airport control tower.

BBC correspondent Katty Kay said that conditions were reportedly clear but very windy, and small planes are particularly vulnerable to such conditions.

Smoke can still be seen billowing from the scene of the crash, and the airport has been closed while rescue workers attend the scene.