The crash happened at 1031 local time <0931 GMT>. The plane was making its final approach to runway 18R when it crash landed in a ploughed field close to the A9 motorway.

It broke into three pieces but did not catch fire.

Helpers arrived at the scene very quickly and gave first aid on the spot.

Officials have now confirmed that at least nine people have died and some 50 are injured.

All flights at the airport were suspended immediately after the crash.

'It completely lost propulsion'

A student who witnessed the crash said the plane appeared to be gliding into the airport without engine power.

Thomas Freidhoff told the BBC: "At first it didn't seem that odd because it was flying low but aeroplanes do that around Schiphol.

"At a certain point I realised I was hearing engine noise, but it wasn't coming from that plane.

"It was gliding through the air trying to make the runway. It completely lost propulsion or couldn't glide anymore, and you clearly saw it come down several tens of metres and come to a quite sudden stop," he added.

The fact that no fire broke out on impact has prompted some to suggest that the plane was low on fuel when it hit the ground.

It was at the end of its flight from Istanbul, though experts say that there would have been a quantity of fuel onboard.

Chris Yates, an aviation safety analyst for Jane's, the defence and security group said that weather should not have been a problem.

"I don't think weather is a factor. Light winds, slightly overcast and some rain but only light showers. These are the sort of weather conditions that aircraft fly in all the time," he told the BBC.

Schiphol airport has a good safety record and is considered by pilots to be one of the premier airports in the world with a very good layout.

Flight safety

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft has a good safety record, experts say.

It is one of the latest versions of Boeing's 737 family of jetliners that first flew in the 1960s, considered the most successful aircraft of its type.

The aircraft first flew in 1997 and came into service the following year. This particular aircraft was delivered to Turkish Airlines in 2002.

There have been three previous crashes involving the single aisle, twin engine, short-to-medium range plane which can carry between 162 and 189 passengers.

In September 2006 a 737-800 collided with an executive jet mid-air over Brazil, killing all on board.

In May the following year, a Kenya airways flight crashed near Nairobi airport. All 105 passengers and nine crew were killed.

Three months later, a China Airlines 737-800 caught fire shortly after landing. All on board were safely evacuated.

Turkish Airlines has a good safety record. It is rated a four star airline by Skytrax, industry research advisors to the world airline and air transport industry. This is the same rating as Virgin and British Airways.

The last crash involving a Turkish Airlines plane was in 2003 when 65 people died in an accident in eastern Turkey.