Small plane crashes onto A2 motorway near Magdeburg, killing two

A small aircraft crashed onto the A2 motorway northeast of Magdeburg in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt on Friday afternoon, killing both people on board. The plane came down on the carriageway between Burg and the Krähenberge rest area and immediately caught fire. Rescue workers recovered the two occupants from the wreckage, but both were already dead. Police confirmed the two fatalities; the cause of the crash is still unclear.

Plane burst into flames on the carriageway

According to the German Press Agency (dpa), citing police in Magdeburg, the crash happened at about 2:48 p.m. local time on Friday. The aircraft fell onto the road for as yet unknown reasons and caught fire; firefighters extinguished the burning wreckage. Photos from the scene show the red-and-white aircraft largely destroyed, its tail lying on the carriageway and burnt debris scattered on an embankment.

Video from the scene: footage published on social media by MDR, the public broadcaster for central Germany, shows the stricken aircraft burning on the carriageway with thick smoke rising, as fire engines and police cars arrive. If the video does not load, the photo above shows the scene and the rescue operation.

Motorway closed; no vehicles on the ground hit

According to initial police findings, no vehicles on the motorway were hit and no drivers were injured. The A2 was closed in the direction of Hanover after the crash, and it was not yet clear how long the closure would last; traffic heading towards Magdeburg backed up for several kilometres. The A2 is one of Germany's most important east-west routes, linking the Berlin region with North Rhine-Westphalia.

Aircraft type and flight path still to be confirmed

Bild, citing flight-tracking site Flightradar24, reported that the aircraft may have been an Aerostyle Breezer two-seat ultralight. Flightradar24 records show the plane took off from Schleswig in Schleswig-Holstein at about 11:33 a.m., passed Hamburg at about 12:22 p.m., and at 1:47 p.m. was recorded at an altitude of only about 61 metres and a speed of about 105 km/h between Burg-Zentrum and Lostau, before the signal was lost. Police are investigating the cause. According to t-online, citing the head of the Jerichower Land fire protection and civil defence office, the two victims were a female pilot and a second person on board, both of whom burned in the wreckage; the second victim's age and sex have not been released. Authorities said further information will follow as the investigation progresses.

Sources: dpa, Magdeburg police, MDR, Bild, Flightradar24.