Twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner that crashed after takeoff was part of French customs surveillance operation heading for Libyan coast

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A small plane heading towards Libya’s coast to monitor migrant trafficking routes for the French government has crashed soon after taking off from Malta’s main airport, killing all five people on board.

The twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner banked right and hit the ground, causing a huge fireball, at about 7.20am local time (0520 GMT), video captured by a dashboard camera showed.

Malta’s government said all five victims were French and that the flight was part of a French customs surveillance operation tracing routes of illicit trafficking, of humans and drugs, leaving Libya’s lawless coasts.

Libya is the main point of departure for tens of thousands of migrants who have been paying smugglers to bring them toward Europe by boat.

Early media reports said the plane had been chartered by the European Union’s border control agency, Frontex.

Malta’s international airport is used for surveillance flights to Libya due to its proximity. The government said the French customs operation had been active for about five months.

The airport was closed for four hours while debris was cleared, delaying more than a dozen flights, according to a notice on the airport website.

The Metroliner was registered in the US and leased to a Luxembourg company, the government statement added.