A small passenger plane has crashed at Belgium’s Charleroi airport, killing five people and closing the international hub used by Ryanair and other low-cost carriers. The aircraft had problems on take-off on Saturday and tried to return to Charleroi to make an emergency landing but crashed on the side of the runway, airport officials said. “There was a problem on take-off and they tried to come back, but unfortunately the plane crashed,” said Melissa Milioto, an airport spokeswoman. “Five people were killed.” Firefighters sprayed water on plane, a Cessna, which was reduced to a wreck of twisted metal, with only the tail still visible, television images showed.
Flying conditions were poor, with freezing fog.
