FedEx plane crashes, explodes in Tokyo

A FedEx Corp cargo plane caught in a gust of wind crashed and burst into flames as it landed at Narita international airport on Monday, closing the main runway at the busy gateway to Tokyo.

The longest runway of two at the airport was closed, a Narita airport spokesman said, and airlines said some flights had been diverted to other airports from Narita, the main international airport for the Japanese capital.

Asahi TV said the two crew on the plane had been killed in the crash but Kyodo news agency said the pilot and copilot were pulled from the plane unconscious and in a critical condition.

"We have information that strong winds caused the plane to divert from the runway," a Narita Airport spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said the plane was a FedEx cargo flight from Guangzhou, China and a FedEx logo was clearly visible on the upturned remains of the aircraft.

The plane landed hard, tipped onto its left wing and burst into flames, video of the crash on public broadcaster NHK showed.

A bright orange fireball and black billowing smoke engulfed the plane as it flipped and skidded off the runway.

Firefighters sprayed foam onto the broken remains of the plane with its wheels in the air as efforts were made to rescue the crew.

Narita airport said the plane was an MD-11, a freighter made by McDonnell Douglas, part of Boeing Co.

A spokesman for Japan Airlines Corp (JAL), Japan's main international airline, said some arriving flights had been diverted to Tokyo's Haneda airport and airports in Nagoya and Kansai, near Osaka.

An All Nippon Airways (ANA) spokesman said the airline stopped check-in at Narita for 10 international flights, including those to New York, Washington and London.

FedEx officials in Japan confirmed it was their company's flight but said they were still checking other information.

Japan's meteorological agency had issued an advisory of gales for the area around the airport. (Source:Reuter)