Boeing 747 crashes on take off at Brussels airport

An American-owned Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed as it took off at Brussels airport on Sunday and broke apart, but the five-strong crew escaped without injury, airport officials said.

The jumbo jet came to rest at the end of the runway some 500 metres (yards) from housing in the Brussels suburb of Zaventem after the crash, which occurred at 1130 GMT. Local residents have long campaigned to have this particular runway shut down, and said the crash was entirely predictable.

The plane broke into three pieces, and stopped just metres short of electricity power cables. The massive four-engined jet belonged to Kalitta Air, airport spokeswoman Tru Lefevere said.

Belgian TV reported that the plane was carrying diplomatic baggage belonging to the US Ambassador to Belgium, including a car and papers. The US embassy in Brussels refused to comment.

The five-strong crew were all Americans, and the plane was bound for the Gulf state of Bahrain, according to another airport official, Jan Van der Cruysse.

No obvious cause for the crash was immediately apparent and an inquiry has been opened.

"It seems that the plane must have suddenly left the runway as it was attempting take-off, and crashed. It was perhaps a technical problem, but we don't know," airport spokeswoman Tru Lefevre said. Brussels airport is situated about 15 kilometres (10 miles) from the Belgian capital.

"This was very close to a catastrophe," said Frederic Petit of the local residents' association. "Imagine if it whad been an aircraft full of passengers!" BRUSSELS, AFP