Bosnia Plane Crash: 5 Killed As Cessna Goes Down

Bosnian policeman inspect the crash site of a small sports plane, near Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Sunday, May 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

BANJA LUKA , Bosnia-Herzegovina -- A small sports plane burst into flames just after takeoff in northwest Bosnia on Sunday, killing the five people on board.

Banja Luka police spokesperson Mirna Soja told the AP that three skydivers, an instructor and the pilot of the Cessna plane died in the crash.

She said the skydivers had just finished their training and were about to embark on their first jump, but their plane burst into flames just after takeoff from a small airstrip in Banja Luka.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and set about extinguishing the blaze.

Video obtained by the AP from the crash site showed families of the dead hugging each other and crying after watching the plane plummet from the sky.

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Comments

[signsonehr]

01:25 PM on 05/21/2012

Are we really so starved to hear about death and destruction and other peoples pain that HP had to report this story??? Hey HP....someones cat died in Ecuador....better go get the story!!

[12thsign]

04:49 AM on 05/21/2012

It is sad, it is news, since so many Bosnians came here after the war.

[mulepick]

03:55 AM on 05/21/2012

The strip's named Luka. Just don't argue anymore.

[IFGA]

01:05 AM on 05/21/2012

5 people died ina small plane crash in Bosnia, Sorry about that. How many people died in automobile accidents in the U S today?

[aritul]

11:43 PM on 05/20/2012

Poor souls. May they rest in peace.

[no1chef99]

08:40 PM on 05/20/2012

their arms got tired from flapping those feathers

[glucash22]

07:45 PM on 05/20/2012

Very sad but is this really news we need to know?

[setanta54]

07:39 PM on 05/20/2012

wonder who they were connected to ?

[Jimmy A Faircloth]

07:15 PM on 05/20/2012

I think I would have jumped any way burning up has got to be bad

[V-Bottom]

07:06 PM on 05/20/2012

ooops...Fly w/ God I meant....RIP all

[V-Bottom]

07:06 PM on 05/20/2012

May U all Fly God now....RIP

[V-Bottom]

07:05 PM on 05/20/2012

dirty pool.....................

[Big Horn Man]

05:36 PM on 05/20/2012

That's too bad. They would have jumped out safely if had the [plane fly a little higher. Suck!

[Pat4Him409]

05:30 PM on 05/20/2012

And is this news in the USA because....?

[Clams]

10:14 PM on 05/20/2012

It is news because, we, thank goodness, have nothing uglier to report. It is a tragedy for these five and those close to them, unfortunately. Be glad that HP had to look so far afield.

[rob000000]

11:58 PM on 05/20/2012

Good point.

Thanks for your civil service, by the way. I especially liked the exchange where someone chided you for working long hours without overtime pay as your having "poor time management." Some people just don't have much of a work ethic or commitment to the nation. Cheers!

[amd52]

04:07 AM on 05/21/2012

I am with you, i believe we have so many of our own problems and needs to fix, not that i am not sympathetic to the poor families who lost a loved one, i am and i pray they may Rest in Peace. However, i pray that we as the United States should really worry about what is going on around us as well. Peace to all, and i also, believe Obama has destroyed us Royally. We as Americans have gotten the Royal Screw from Him. He belongs in a Cracker Jack Box. Fix us here first, we are all suffering middle class mostly who had made an honest living and have lost everything, by his hand. Bush is no longer at the Helm. O is a Dictator he wins again we will have King of the USA. He has destroyed every ounce of our Constituion more so than any other President. How Sad. imo

[shyguy151]

04:32 PM on 05/20/2012

Might have been a good idea to try that parachute out.

[nr3hoyem]

06:57 PM on 05/20/2012

Not possible right after take off. They need several hundred feet to deploy the chute, and first they have to get out of the aircraft. All of this happens in just a few moments. No time to plan unless they were at least seven hundred feet or so.

[shyguy151]

12:18 AM on 05/21/2012

That sucks. I hope the families can get through this.