Accident in Germany Small plane crashes onto steelworks site - two dead

Small plane crashes on steel company premises: two dead - Gallery

A small plane takes off from the Salzgitter-Drütte airfield, but then crashes on the Salzgitter AG factory premises.

Image: dpa

Two men die in the crash.

Image: dpa

The plane crashes in a narrow corridor between two halls, of all places. (archive picture)

Image: dpa

Small plane crashes on steel company premises: two dead - Gallery

A small plane takes off from the Salzgitter-Drütte airfield, but then crashes on the Salzgitter AG factory premises.

Image: dpa

Two men die in the crash.

Image: dpa

The plane crashes in a narrow corridor between two halls, of all places. (archive picture)

Image: dpa

Two men die when their plane crashes into the grounds of Salzgitter AG in Lower Saxony. The police believe it was an accident. The burning wreckage is difficult for the fire department to find.

DPA

13.04.2025, 16:14

13.04.2025, 16:42

dpa

Tragic end to a short flight: a small plane has crashed on the factory premises of steel manufacturer Salzgitter, killing two men. According to the police, the fatalities were the 55-year-old pilot and the 56-year-old co-pilot of the plane, both from Salzgitter. No other people were injured in the crash.

Police assume accident

The plane had taken off from the airfield in Salzgitter-Drütte in Lower Saxony - barely more than one kilometer from the scene of the accident, according to a fire department spokesman. After a short flight, the plane crashed on the factory premises, in a narrow corridor between two halls. The exact cause of the crash was not initially known. A police spokesman emphasized that it was assumed to be an accident.

What is particularly striking is that the aisle between the factory halls is very narrow, but around 150 meters long - and this is exactly where the small plane crashed, as Arno Sicks, the fire department's head of operations, said. There were only slight impact marks on the walls and roof of the hangar. The plane caught fire in the crash and thick smoke rose. In the end, only parts of the wings were still visible: All that remained was a "charred steel skeleton", as he said.

Production not affected

There was only minor damage to the Salzgitter AG factory premises, as a company spokesman confirmed. Production was not affected, he told the German Press Agency.

Salzgitter AG is one of Germany's largest steel manufacturers. The state of Lower Saxony holds a 26.5 percent stake in the company, making it its largest shareholder. The steel group recently called off a takeover by the bidders GP Günter Papenburg and TSR Recycling. IG Metall had also spoken out clearly against the plans and defended itself with protest actions.

Fire department received numerous calls due to the smoke

In the meantime, the fire department was at the scene of the crash with around 90 firefighters - just to be on the safe side. After all, it was not known what kind of plane it was, explained Sicks. Many people had called the fire department because of the heavy smoke, and in the end the Salzgitter professional fire department, the ambulance service and emergency counselors were deployed in addition to the plant fire department.

Shortly after half past nine in the morning, the fire department was alerted first, drove in the direction of the smoke and contacted the plant fire department, said the incident commander. It was somewhat difficult to find the crashed plane on the huge factory site - despite the smoke.

Cause: unclear

After extinguishing the fire, the emergency doctor confirmed the death of the two men in the plane, said Sicks. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation in Braunschweig is investigating the cause of the plane crash. A spokesman said that he was not yet able to say anything about a possible cause. However, it is possible that the first details will be available on Monday when the accident investigators return.