ABC19980216.1830.0301 NEWS CAPTION in another big story tonight, there has been a terrible plane crash in taiwan. a china airlines airbus a-300, flying from bali to taiwan's main airport in taipei, crashed into the ground just short of the runway. all 196 people on board are believed dead. they were mostly tourists and included five americans. nine other people who were on the ground were killed by the plane. abc's jim laurie is in taiwan. the plane erupted in a ball of fire as it struck a residential area less than a half mile from the airport runway. large pieces of the plane lay in rice fields or embedded in nearby buildings. "people on ground are dead," said this man. people couldn't get out o of their houses. among those on the plane was the head of taiwan's central bank. among those killed on the ground a 2-year-old child. "i was sitting inside just watching tv when it struck, " said this man. "i don't know what happened then." according to local aviation officials at four minutes past 8:00 in the evening when the pilots were cleared to land, no sign of trouble. flight 676 was roughly three miles from the airport. a minute after that, the control tower suddenly lost radio contact. moments later, the plane went down. it's said visibility was about 600 yards in fog and rain as the plane on final approach smashed into cars and buildings along the road just behind me. airline officials at a nearby crisis center tried to console families who lost loved ones. china airlines recently launched an extensive safety campaign after a crash in japan four years ago. aviation officials who tonight recovered the black box will now try to determine whether pilot error or other factors brought down flight 676 on a foggy night in taiwan. jim laurie, abc news, taipei.