News reaching here from Tegucigalpa said the accident occurred at about 10:00 a.m. local time (1600 GTM), when the plane, owned by Central America's TACA airlines, was trying to land at the Toncontin airport amid heavy rain and fog.

    The plane Miami-bound Airbus A-320, with 124 passengers and crew on board, left San Salvador at 8:00 a.m. local time and was scheduled to stop briefly in Tegucigalpa and in San Pedro Sula before heading to Miami.

    The pilot, who was among the dead, was apparently unable to stop the aircraft after landing.

    The plane skidded off the runway, raced onto a busy street and smashed into an embankment, breaking into three parts, as it tried to make a landing at the Toncontin airport.

    Also among the dead was Nicaraguan Harry Brautigam, president of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.

    Honduran former Industry and Trade Minister Norman Garcia, who was also on the plane when the accident occurred, was one of the survivors.

    Honduran President Manuel Zelaya expressed regret over the accident and also extended his condolences to the victims.

    Guatemalan Vice President Rafael Espada said Friday President Alvaro Colom has called his Honduran counterpart Zelaya to extend his condolences to the families of Brautigam and other victims of the accident.

    Honduras Industry and Commerce Minister Norman Garcia said poor visibility could have contributed to the crash.

    Specialists have said that landing at Toncontin airport is difficult for big planes because the runways are short and narrow.

    The worst plane crash that occurred at Toncontin airport was in1989, when a passenger aircraft smashed into a hill, killing 133 people.