Nando Times

Five people die in Thailand plane crash, police say

The Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand (April 11, 2001 10:50 p.m. EDT) - Five people were killed when a small plane crashed Wednesday in northern Thailand, police said.

The single-engine Cessna crashed minutes after taking off from an air force base near the city of Chiang Mai, said Police Capt. Chakrit Sripa. It belonged to an antique aircraft conservation club based there.

A witness said he saw the plane descend rapidly and hit a power pylon while apparently trying to make it back to the base. The victims were pronounced dead at a hospital, the ITV television network reported.

The plane crashed along a main road several hundred yards from a large retail outlet, but nobody on the ground was hurt.

ITV said it had been donated to the club by the Agriculture Ministry and was making a test flight with a new engine when it crashed.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), April 12, 2001