Spectator killed and 10 injured in German airshow crash

April 27, 2008 A spectator has been killed and at least 10 people injured after an aircraft struck spectators at an airshow in Germany yesterday. The one-engined propellor-driven aircraft exited the runway after failing to take off and ploughed into a group that had congregated around a snack stand.

The accident occurred at Kindel Air Field, which is located south of Berlin, near Eisenach. The aircraft involved was a Zlin Z-37 Cmelak, a Czech built single-seater plane which had been used by authorities in former East Germany as a cropduster.

A 45-year-old woman was killed, and the 35-year-old pilot had to be freed from his wrecked aircraft and was badly injured. A 14-year-old girl is hospitalised in a critical condition, according to Bloomberg, although other sources suggest the 14-year-old and a nine-year-old child were amongst those less seriously injured. Some reports suggest 15 people were wounded by the crash, and German TV network ZDF suggested the plane struck a children's carousel near the runway's end and not a refreshments stall.