A small plane crashed onto the A2 highway northeast of Magdeburg on Friday, killing both occupants.

The two-seater aircraft went down around 2:48 p.m. between Burg and the Krähenberge parking area in Saxony-Anhalt. It burst into flames on impact. Police said no vehicles on the highway were struck.

The plane belonged to the Aero Club Kropp in Schleswig-Holstein. It had departed from Schleswig airport at 12:33 p.m. One occupant was a club member; the other was a passenger. Both were recovered dead from the wreckage.

The aircraft was described as a red-and-white two-seater, possibly an Aerostyle Breezer ultralight. It was largely destroyed. Its tail lay on the roadway while burned debris rested on the embankment. Firefighters extinguished the wreckage about one kilometer before the Krähenberge parking area.

The A2, a major east-west route linking Berlin to North Rhine-Westphalia, was closed in the direction of Hannover. Police and rescue services remained at the scene for several hours. Fire departments from multiple towns, emergency medical services and psychosocial support teams responded.

The cause of the crash remains unknown. Police are investigating how and why the plane was over the highway. The club chairman declined to give details about the victims but said the club was deeply affected. A party planned for Saturday at the airfield was cancelled.