Essendon Airport plane crash: Five confirmed dead in DFO aircraft crash

Updated February 21 2017 - 2:37pm, first published 9:39am

A small plane has crashed into a Melbourne shopping centre near Melbourne’s Essendon airport.

What we know

  • The plane crashed just before before 9am into a section of the shopping centre next to the Tullamarine Freeway at Bulla Road in Essendon Fields. It appears the plane hit the roof of the centre.
  • The plane rose to about 30 metres, veered left and is understood to have put out two mayday calls before crashing. Police said they suspected engine failure.
  • All five people on board were killed. There were no other fatalities.
  • The plane was a Beechcraft King Air chartered to carry five golfers to King Island. It was being operated by Corporate and Leisure Travel, who had hired it from MyJet in Bendigo, Bas Nikolovski​, head of Australian Corporate Jets confirmed.
  • The light plane took off from runway 17 at Essendon airport around 9am. 
  • The Tullamarine Freeway is closed inbound between Western Ring Road and Pascoe Vale Road. The Calder Freeway is also closed inbound between the Western Ring Road and Bell Street.
  • Premier Daniel Andrews described it this afternoon as the state's "worst plane disaster in 30 years".

Live updates

2.26pm: American tourists believed on board the plane that crashed in Melbourne. 

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