The burnt-out wreckage of the plane at Trier-Fohren.
Four people have died after a light plane travelling from England struck an electricity pylon and crashed in thick fog while landing at an airport in western Germany, according to German police.
The plane, believed to be a Cessna Citation, was carrying two pilots and two passengers from England when it came down early on Sunday near its destination airfield at Trier-Föhren, close to the city of Trier, itself near the border with Luxembourg, Trier police said.
A spokesman for the airfield said the plane was travelling from Shoreham airport in West Sussex and all the deceased were German. The impact set the plane on fire, with 50 firefighters involved in extinguishing the blaze.
A source at the airfield said visibility at the time was as little as 100 metres. The airfield is not equipped for instrument landings, and planes landing visually at German airfields are usually advised not to attempt this in visibility below 1,800 metres.
Witnesses said part of the wing was stuck in an electricity pylon to the north-east of the runway. The airfield is relatively short, at 1,200 metres, and is primarily used for private and military flights.
A police spokeswoman, Monika Peters, said the plane was a Cessna Citation, a popular type of US-made turbofan plane. Emergency services were called after witnesses saw it crash next to large rubbish tip site at a place called Rivenich. Reports said the plane was on fire when firefighters reached the scene. There was no word on the possible cause of the crash, or the identity of those on board. The plane had an American registration.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the reports and are urgently looking into them."
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