Jet crash kills three in Honduras

A pilot, passenger and motorist have been killed after a jetliner overshot a runway in Honduras.

The Miami-bound jetliner, which was trying to land, slammed to a stop on a busy street in the capital, Tegucigalpa, on Friday.

The nose of the Grupo Taca plane smashed into a retaining wall and its fuselage buckled and broke in places, trapping the pilot and co-pilot inside.

Rescuers had to prise open part of the wreckage to get them out, but the pilot didn't survive.

More than 75 people were injured in the crash, including Brazil's ambassador to Honduras, Brian Michael Fraser Neele.

Police said he was being treated at a private hospital and his wife was missing.

Also dead was a Nicaraguan who headed a regional development bank who died of heart failure shortly after the crash.

The body of a man trapped under the plane's wreckage was believed to be a taxi driver.

Passengers were seen running away from the wreckage after using emergency doors to get out.

Injured people were carried out over the wings of the plane, where a fire was seen burning.

The Airbus 320 left San Salvador at 8.30am local time carrying 124 passengers, mostly from Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica. It was scheduled to stop briefly in Tegucigalpa and in San Pedro Sula before heading to Miami.

It was unclear what caused the crash, but weather may have been a factor. The runway was wet with rain from Tropical Storm Alma.

Officials have been struggling for years to replace the aging Toncontin International Airport. It's short runway, primitive navigation equipment and neighbouring hills make it one of the world's more dangerous international airports.

The worst crash associated with the airport was in 1989 when a Honduran airliner hit a nearby hill, killing 133 people.

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