Private jet that departed from Texas crashes in Honduras
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A private jet that crashed off the end of the runway at the international airport in Honduras' capital Tuesday had arrived from Austin, Texas, according to the website FlightAware.
Video images posted online showed what appeared to be area residents pulling people out of the damaged fuselage of the white Gulfstream jet, while others sprayed it with hand-held fire extinguishers.
Firefighters arrived at the scene and doused the wreckage with foam. Part of the plane appeared in photos to lie across a street.
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The Associated Press, citing Federal Aviation Administration records, reported that the plane was registered to TVPX Aircraft Solutions Inc. in North Salt Lake, Utah.
Honduras' emergency management 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.
"Thank God there are no fatalities," police official Miguel Martínez Madrid said in a statement.
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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.
Miguel Osorio, a spokesman for the Hospital Escuela Universitario, said that five crew members were being treated for minor injuries and were in stable condition.
The Honduran Civil Aviation Agency said in a statement that the crash took place at 11:15 a.m. It added that everyone aboard was taken for medical attention and said airport operations were temporarily shut down while authorities checked to ensure conditions were safe. Operations resumed at 3:15 p.m.
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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 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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The Associated Press contributed to this report.