Private jet crashes in Honduran capital, all aboard survive

MEXICO CITY – A private jet crashed off the end of the runway of the international airport in Honduras' capital Tuesday, but the crew and passengers were rescued and reportedly out of danger, the government's emergency management agency said.

Photographs posted by the agency showed a white Gulfstream jet broken in half near the center. Firefighters sprayed foam onto the wreck and part of the plane appeared to lie across a street.

Video showed what appeared to be area residents pulling people out of the damaged fuselage while others sprayed the plane with hand-held fire extinguishers.

The FlightAware website said the flight had originated in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday morning.

Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane registered to TVPX Aircraft Solutions Inc. in North Salt Lake, Utah. A person who identified himself as Mike at TVPX said he had no information to share and hung up.

The emergency agency said on Twitter that first responders rescued passengers and crew. It did not provide the number of those aboard, but said all were alive.

Honduran firefighters posted photos of the crash and said there were nine people injured, but military police spokesman Mario Rivera said there were six aboard. The discrepancy was not immediately clarified.

President Juan Orlando Hernandez confirmed via Twitter that the injured were stable.

In 2008, a plane of the former airline TACA crashed in nearly the same spot. Five people died in that crash.

Tegucigalpa's airport has long been notorious as one of the more difficult approaches in the hemisphere, surrounded by mountaintops and residential neighborhoods. The airport's runway is about 6,600 feet (2,012 meters) long, according to the airport's website.

Authorities asked drivers to avoid the area and said about 50,000 people in the surrounding neighborhood lost power because the plane took down power lines.

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Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report.