2 killed in trainer plane crash in China

A trainee pilot and his instructor were today killed when their trainer aircraft crashed in farmland in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The crash took place this morning in Yanjia Village, Qianyang County.

Nobody was hurt on the ground, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The local government identified the victims as a 27-year- old trainee and a 32-year-old male instructor in an aircraft owned by Shaanxi Phoenix International Flying College Co.

It was used to train pilots for regional airlines.

Witnessed said they saw the aircraft, with "Phoenix Flying College" written on its body, spin out of control and hit the ground.