BRUSSELS — A Belgian light airplane that had been missing since Friday afternoon was found at about 12.15pm on Saturday near the southern Dutch town of Clinge.

Belgian federal police in Antwerp said both the pilot and passenger were killed in the crash.

The red and white Cessna had nose-dived into farm pasture near the Bietenweg in Clinge, breaking into two. Smaller debris was found scattered around the wreckage.

Local hunters found the plane on Saturday afternoon.

The deceased victims have been identified as a 72-year-old pilot and his 60-year-old brother-in-law. Both men came from the Belgian town of Peer.
 
An extensive technical investigation has been launched to determine the cause the crash, newspaper ‘Het Gazet van Antwerpen’ reported.

Both Dutch and Belgian emergency services had been looking for the plane since Friday night.

The plane took off at about 2.30pm on Friday from a Belgian Limburg flight club in Hechtel-Eksel, located near Leopoldsburg.

The plane then disappeared suddenly off the radar. Its last known location had been above the Dutch town of Hulst.

[Copyright Expatica News 2005]

Subject: Belgian news