THE pilots of the aircraft that crash-landed at Cork Airport yesterday, claiming their lives and those of four passengers, have been strongly defended by the chairman of the airline.

A MAJOR international air accident investigation is underway to establish why an aircraft crashed in heavy fog on its third landing attempt at Cork Airport yesterday, killing six of the 12 passengers on board.

Three people have died and two others are trapped after a plane travelling from Belfast City Airport crashed in fog at Cork Airport today, a Cork County Council spokesman said.

Rescue crews today pulled dozens of bodies from a plane that crashed and burst into flames at a Sao Paulo airport, as the number of people feared dead rose to 195 in what would be Brazil’s worst air disaster.