Melbourne plane crash: Five dead as aircraft hits shopping centre

Five people have died after a charter plane crash-landed into a shopping centre in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

The Beechcraft B200 King Air took off from Essendon Airport just before 9.00am local time (10pm Monday GMT). On board were an Australian, named as "seasoned pilot" Max Quartermain, and four US tourists on their way to play golf at King Island, who have not been formally identified.

Quartermain issued two mayday signals immediately after take-off, reporting catastrophic engine failure. Moments later, the plane plummeted into the Direct Factory Outlet retail complex at Essendon Fields in a "massive fireball described by witnesses as 'like an atomic bomb'", says the Herald Sun.

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Dashcam footage shows a mushroom cloud of black smoke rising from the shopping outlet.

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Around 20 employees were at the shopping centre, which had not opened when the crash occurred. None were harmed, although some witnesses received treatment for shock.

Assistant police commissioner Stephen Leane said: "Looking at the fireball, it is incredibly lucky that no one was at the back of those stores or in the car park of the stores, that no one was even hurt."

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has launched an investigation into the incident, which is the "worst civil aviation accident in Victoria in 30 years", The Australian reports.

Aviation lecturer Dr Douglas Drury told Australian Associated Press that the King Air was a "trusted aircraft", but that engine failure at take-off is "one of the most critical moments during a very difficult phase of flight".

He added: "To lose an engine with a catastrophic failure right after take-off is a difficult moment for any pilot."