5 people killed when plane flying from Czech Republic crashes in Ukraine

Dec 10 2007, 13:13
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) - A small plane crashed near the Ukrainian capital Sunday, killing all five people onboard. Emergency officials said bad weather was a likely cause.
The plane, a turboprop-powered Beechcraft, was on a charter flight from the Czech Republic to Kyiv, Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Ihor Krol said.
It crashed while on its way to land at the Zhulyany airport on Kiev's southwestern outskirts, killing two crew members and three passengers on board. All the victims were foreigners, Krol said, but their identities and nationalities were not immediately available.
Emergency Situations Minister Nestor Shufrich said in televised comments that bad weather - a dense fog and a drizzle - were likely the cause of the crash.
The plane crashed several hundred meters (yards) away from a major highway encircling the city, Krol said. The plane slammed into a field and burst into flames, he said. The cause of the crash was under investigation. Krol said that according to preliminary information, the plane was privately owned. Transport Ministry aviation official Mykola Khalepa said the plane - a Beechcraft-90 - belonged to a Czech company.