Skydivers killed in plane crash at Brisbane airport

Five skydivers were killed when the light plane carrying them crashed at Caboolture Airport in Brisbane, Australia.

The BBC reports that family members watched in horror as the plane crashed and burst into flames.

Police said the pilot, two skydiving instructors and two skydiving customers died.

"We received a call from the airfield and sent three crews to a light plane that had crashed," a Queensland Fire and Rescue Service official told AFP.

"The fire was extinguished in 10 minutes."

Bryan Carpenter, who works at the airfield, said the plane was a Cessna 206, which carried between five and six people on skydiving flights.

Speaking to Sky News, he said: "On impact with the ground (the plane) immediately burst into flames and there were no survivors," he said.

"This is the worst-ever fatality accident we've suffered (at Caboolture)."

In 2012, a pilot who died when his aircraft crashed into a residential backyard was hailed a hero after all 12 skydivers on board escaped unharmed.

Brandon Sparrow, 30, was pilot of a plane that was taking part in a skydive event organised by the Mid-America Sport Parachute Club when he his problems with 12 skydivers on board.

It is believed his actions saved the lives of those on board, as well as minimising the chances of injuring anybody on the ground.

The twin-engine plane went down into a backyard in Taylorville, Illinois. Neighbours said the plane came nose-diving towards the ground just after all 12 skydivers jumped out.

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