Eight killed as commuter jet ploughs into woods

A commuter plane crashed in woods as it approached an airport in north-eastern Missouri early today, killing at least eight of the 15 people on board.

At least two people from the flight survived the crash and were being treated at a local hospital and five were missing, said Adair County Chief Deputy Larry Logston.

The last communication from the Jetstream 32 twin-engine turboprop indicated it was on a normal approach to Kirksville Regional Airport and there was no mention of any problems, said Elizabeth Isham Cory, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Chicago.

The plane crashed four miles south of the Kirksville airport, she said. The plane, believed to have been Corporate Airlines Flight 5966, was on a regular route from St Louis when it crashed shortly after 7.30pm local time yesterday, she said.

Logston said there were two known survivors – a man and a woman. It was not immediately clear whether the 15 people included the crew.

The two survivors were being treated at Northeast Regional Medical Centre in Kirksville, according to Larry Rodgers, a spokesman for the hospital. He said both were stable, but had no information about the extent of their injuries.

Corporate Airlines is an affiliate of American Airlines.

Kirksville is about 220 miles north-west of St Louis.