US Cargo Jet Crashes in Belgium

Aircraft breaks up on takeoff near homes
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted May 26, 2008 3:10 AM CDT
US Cargo Jet Crashes in Belgium
The Kalitta Air cargo plane that crashed at the end of the runway in Zaventem near Brussels.   (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

A US jumbo jet carrying diplomatic cargo from the American embassy in Belgium crashed on take-off from a Brussels airport and broke into three pieces, reports Agence France Presse. The aircraft came to rest just a quarter mile from a residential area. The crew of five, all Americans, were not injured.

"This was very close to a catastrophe," said a spokesman for a local residents' association which has campaigned to close the short runway. "Imagine if it had been an aircraft full of passengers." (More Boeing 747 stories.)

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