Cessna Citation crash

[neongamer 3]

A small plane carrying two pilots and three passengers has crashed in Farnborough in Kent severely damaging a house and garage.

Flames and a large plume of black smoke billowed from homes in Romsey Close after the Cessna Citation jet came down at about 1430BST near Darrick Wood.

The plane's occupants are unaccounted for and police said a few people suffered minor injuries on the ground.

Residents in the most severely damaged house were thought to be away.

A man named as John told how he was piloting another plane at Biggin Hill when he heard a mayday call from a Cessna come over to the control tower.

"As I turned off the runway, I looked back and saw the plane drop out of the sky"

Jon

Pilot at Biggin Hill

In pictures: Plane crash

He told the BBC: "I was about thirty seconds from touchdown and I heard a mayday call.

"(The pilot) reported severe engine vibrations. You could hear the alarms in the cockpit.

"The pilot came back over the radio a second or two later and said 'We're going down, we're going down'.

"The radio stayed live, and as I turned off the runway I looked back and I saw the plane basically drop out of the sky.

"And then the radio went dead and black smoke came up from over the hill."

Black smoke plume

An eyewitness, Paul Daisley, said: "We heard a light aircraft coming across as if it was having trouble putting its wheels up.

"The wheels wouldn't come down and it was dropping rather rapid[ly], as it came across the tennis centre. And then we just saw a big plume of black smoke go up in the air."

Local resident Karl Mills, told Sky News: "It was the loudest noise I've ever heard. All you could see was a big ball of fire, and smoke billowing over the house."

Another eyewitness Katherine Simnett told the BBC she believed the house was empty, and residents next door left safely.

She said roads in the crash area were closed and the smell of fuel was heavy in the air.

Nearby Farnborough Hospital said it was on standby to take any casualties.

A spokesperson from the Department of Transport says the Air Accident Investigation Branch are launching a full investigation into every aspect of the crash and the first inspectors are already on the scene.quote>

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/7321589.stm

[simsmart 1]

That's gotta suck.

[krbe 193]

I thought Farnborough had its own airport? A privatly owned one with some fancy architcture?

Anyway, sounds almost like the Triple Seven last time. Good thing it wasn't at Heathrow again.

[belfastuniguy 18]

It does, the plane was either trying to land there or had just taken off.

[Superchan 23]

ouch, thats got to hurt, i wish my dad afford a citation, he and a friend of his just sold there Cessna 172 Skyhawk to get a different plane.