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Plane Crashes after Pilot Couldn?t Afford to Fill Up

A German pilot will be charged with negligence after his plan crashed onto a busy highway, injuring several people. So while he cannot be tried for flying under the influence of alcohol, for instance, he has admitted that the reason that he crashed was that he didn?t have enough money to fill up his plane?s fuel tank!

Before the 46 year-old pilot took off from Berlin to Essen, he discovered that he could not fill up with gasoline because he had forgotten his credit card at home. He managed to scrape together some money for what he thought would be enough fuel to make the flight and took off for his destination. Unfortunately, the pilot?s estimates were incorrect and just short of Essen-Muelheim airport, his plane crashed onto an autobahn on top of a traveling car.

Two additional women passengers in the aircraft ? aged 32 and 41 ? were seriously injured in the crash. The pilot was also slightly hurt, along with two people on the ground. A further two were treated for shock following the incident. A passing truck driver on the A-52 highway was able to put out the flames caused by the crash with his vehicle?s fire extinguisher. Authorities say that the crash caused about $450,000 in damages and that the pilot could possibly face criminal charges, over and beyond a fine for flying negligently.