Five people have been killed when a plane crashed into a shopping centre near Melbourne's Essendon Airport. The commuter plane, bound for King Island in the Bass Strait, got into trouble just after take-off, with the pilot issuing mayday calls. It crashed into the back of a large shopping centre that borders the airport, killing all on board.
The five - an Australian pilot and four US tourists heading to play golf on King Island - were on the plane when it appeared to suffer catastrophic engine failure.
The plane crashed into the back of two shops, Focus on Furniture and a JB Hi Fi store, within the Direct Factory Outlets shopping complex adjacent to the airport. Although staff were preparing to open stores DFO Essendon, no one else was injured by flying debris or the fireball that engulfed the plane, burned through the stores and out into a carpark.
The Beechcraft Super King Air twin-engine aircraft struck the centre at about 9am. The plane, owned by Myjet, had been hired by Corporate and Leisure Travel, a company owned by Max Quartermain, who is believed to have been the pilot.
One of the plane's wheels ended up on the Tullamarine Freeway.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says it is worst civil-aviation accident in the state in last three decades. But is not the first time there has been a disaster near the airport, which used to serve as Melbourne's main airport before the opening of the Tullamarine facility in 1970.
On December the 3rd, 1993, a de Havilland Dove aircraft with 10 people on board crashed into five houses in Gilbertson Street, Essendon. The aircraft clipped power lines, but, although it spilled its fuel, it did not burst into flames, and, miraculously, no-one was killed.
Ever since that crash, some residents in the area have called for the complete shutdown of the airport, arguing it is too close to housing.
The airport now serves as a charter airport and is home to the Air Ambulance and the Police Air Wing and serves as a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Premier Andrews says it is too early to renew debate over the airport's future.
"Well, there are many thousands of passenger movements and also freight movements that come out of the Essendon Airport each and every year, and it's an important transport asset for our state. There'll be some critics, and they're entitled to. They've had a long-running campaign about these things. Some people will want to have a discussion and debate about how suitable Essendon Airport is. I think the best thing to do now is to allow those processes to run their course. Let's get the facts, and then we can deal with it from there,” said Andrews.
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