TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — A Miami-bound Airbus 320 jetliner overshot a runway, raced onto a busy street and slammed into an embankment in the Honduran capital Friday, killing the pilot, two passengers and a motorist on the ground.
At least 65 people were injured, including the former head of Honduras’ armed forces, Gen. Daniel Lopez Carballo.
The Grupo Taca jet was trying to land with 140 people on board when it overshot the runway. Its nose smashed into an embankment and its fuselage buckled and broke in places, trapping the pilot and co-pilot inside.
Rescuers had to pry open part of the wreckage to get them out, but the pilot didn’t survive, said Cesar Villalta, director of Honduras’ military hospital.
Passenger Harry Brautigam, a Nicaraguan, died of heart failure shortly after the crash. The body of a man trapped under the plane’s wreckage was believed to be a taxi driver.
Janneth Shantall, the wife of Brazilian Ambassador Brian Michael Fraser Neele, was also killed in the crash, an employee of the Brazilian embassy said. That employee said the ambassador was also aboard the plane and was injured.
More than 2,000 gallons of fuel spilled out of the jet, and authorities tried to clear away hundreds of onlookers while they hosed down cars trapped under the plane’s left engine.
It was unclear what caused the crash, but weather may have been a factor. The runway was wet with rain from Tropical Storm Alma.
There have been calls for years to replace aging Toncontin International Airport, whose short runway, primitive navigation equipment and neighboring hills make it one of the world’s more dangerous international airports.
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