TURKISH PLANE CRASHED

"While landing in a normal fashion,

a situation such as an air pocket occurred

and the airplane went out of control and crashed.

Everything took place in a matter of 3-5 seconds.

We landed on a field,"

Tuncer Mutlucan was quoted by Anatolian Agency as telling broadcaster NTV.

A TURKISH Airlines plane crashed while coming in to land at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam yesterday, killing nine people and injuring 50 people, 25 of them seriously.

The Boeing 737-800, which had at least 135 people on board, broke into three pieces on impact in a field near the airport.

At an official media conference after the crash, authorities said nine people had died.

LATEST 1:35 GMT 26 Feb. 2009

Investigations are continuing into what caused a Turkish Airlines plane to crash at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, killing nine people and injuring 84.

The plane, en route from Istabul with 127 passengers and seven crew, crashed short of the runway on Wednesday.

Three of those killed were members of the crew. Dutch officials said most of the passengers on board were Turkish.

Relatives of some of those killed have arrived in Amsterdam on a special Turkish Airlines flight from Turkey.

Officials told reporters on Wednesday that they did not yet know what had caused the plane to crash on landing.

The flight data and voice recorders from the aircraft have been found and are being sent for expert analysis.

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft came down at 1031 local time (0931 GMT), several hundred yards (metres) short of the runway, about three hours after it left Istanbul's Ataturk Airport.

It broke into three pieces on impact but most of those on board survived, although many were hurt.

In a news conference on Wednesday, a Dutch health official said six of those injured were in a critical condition.

She said another 25 passengers were severely wounded and 24 more had suffered light injuries. They were being treated at 11 hospitals in the area.

The Turkish transport ministry said the flight carried 78 Turkish nationals and 56 people of other nationalities _ BBC.co.uk