A coach plane crashed shortly after takeover Tuesday morning from Mianyang City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, said sources with the China Civil Aviation College. Two crew, a coach and a student, were killed in the crash.
The plane plunged into ground one kilometer away from the runway, when it was diverting to its course after takeover, said the sources.
The France-made plane, TB200, belongs to the college, which is headquartered in Guanghan County, 23 km away from Chengdu, capital of the province.
The college has a flight training base in Mianyang.
The weather was fine with a visibility reaching 4.5 kilometers when the accident occurred, said the sources.
Earlier reports said that at about 9 am, the plane crashed into a vineyard in Shitang township, Mianyang, causing no explosion and fire, after hovering a circle in the air.
No accidents were reported during the plane's service over the past 14 years.
The college has 107 coach planes and more than 500 coaches, more than 100 of whom have all-weather flight experience of more than 2,500 hours each.
Investigators from the country's Southwest Civil Aviation Administration have rushed to the scene to direct the rescue and aftermath work. Further investigation into the accident is going on.
(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2004)
