Two killed in Fedex cargo plane crash in Japan

A FedEx cargo aircraft crash-landed in strong winds this morning at Japan's Narita International Airport east of Tokyo and burst into a ball of flames, police and news reports said.

Two pilots were confirmed dead at a hospital after their FedEx cargo aircraft crash-landed and burst into flames this morning at Japan's Narita International Airport east of Tokyo,u00a0a news report said.

"A cargo plane crash-landed at the airport," a local police official said after the accident about 6:50 am (local time).

A FedEx cargo plane lies upside down after crash landing on the runway of the Narita International Airport in Narita city.AFP Photo

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was FedEx Flight 80 from Guangzhou, China and was manned by a pilot and co-pilot, Kyodo News reported.

Television footage showed the three-engine widebody airplane tip sideways shortly after touch-down amid strong winds and then, as one of its wings clipped the ground at high speed, burst into a ball of flames.

Fire engines and scores of fire-fighters in flame retardant silver suits rushed to the crash site near the runway and doused the fire with foam as the gutted aircraft lay upside down billowing black smoke.

The four-kilometre airstrip, one of the airport's two runways, was closed to air traffic, airport officials said. The two pilots were believed to be US citizens, NHK said.