A Turkish Airlines flight has crashed on approach to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, killing nine people.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 operating Flight 1951 from Istanbul, crashed into a field short of the runway near the A9 motorway. There were 127 passengers and 7 crew on board. The aircraft came down a few hundred metres short of the main runway.

A news conference staged early on Wednesday afternoon confirmed that nine people had been killed. At least 50 passengers are believed to have been injured. Dutch TV pictures show the aircraft badly damaged on the ground, with the aircraft broken up into three pieces.

Amsterdam Plane Crash

An investigation into why the aircraft crashed has begun. Officials said there was no clear reason why the incident occurred. Weather conditions were reported to be moderate, with an 800ft cloudbase and visibility of at least 4,500 metres. Flights were suspended for a short time following the crash, but they have since resumed.

The 737 left Istanbul at 0822 local time (0622 GMT). The last incident involving a Turkish Airlines aircraft was in 2003, when 65 people died in a crash in the east of Turkey. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft type involved in the accident have an excellent safety record. Turkish Airlines has confirmed that the particular aircraft involved was delivered to the airline from Boeing in 2002.

Source - Airport International's Aviation Correspondent