Safety experts have hailed the "miracle" that limited the death toll in the Turkish Airlines jet crash in Amsterdam to five Turks and four Americans, as the airline admitted the plane had recently malfunctioned.

"It is a real wreck," Fred Sanders, a spokesman for the Dutch Safety Board told AFP. "That so many people were able to walk out was truly remarkable. Some have called it a miracle."

Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim has also described the death toll of nine as a "miracle".

As dozens of investigators pored over the wreckage to pinpoint the cause of the crash, Turkish Airlines said Thursday the jet had undergone repairs for a malfunction two days before the accident.

The Boeing 737-800 jet was taken out of operation on February 23 after the pilot reported a problem with the Master Caution Light — a system that monitors all critical systems — while taxiing to the runway to take off for Madrid, the carrier said in a statement.

The plane was given the clear to fly the same day after the part was replaced.

Two days later it crashed short of the runway in a muddy field, next to a busy freeway and houses, as it tried to land at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport after taking off from Istanbul with 135 on board.

Haarlemmermeer mayor Theo Weterings told a press conference on Thursday that the dead included four Turks and five Americans. Three of the Turks were crew members.

Weterings said there had been 60 Dutch and 51 Turkish nationals on board the flight, as well as seven Americans, four Iranians, three Britons, two Syrians, and one passenger each from Germany, Bulgaria, Finland, Italy, Taiwan and Sudan.

The nationalities of two have yet to be determined.

"...a brick falling from the sky..."

The Finnish foreign ministry has denied one of its citizens was aboard the ill-fated flight, saying the person whose travel documents were found at the crash scene was safely at home.

Weterings said 63 people remained in hospital by Thursday evening, six critical.

"The identities of the deceased will only be released once the next-of-kin have been informed," the mayor added.

Witnesses have likened the crash to a brick falling from the sky. They described seeing the tail of the jet hit the edge of a busy road in light fog and drag along the ground before the plane broke in three on impact.

The engines were found some 100 metres from the rest of the wreckage.

The investigation into the crash is being led by the Dutch Safety Board, supported by police teams and experts from around the country and abroad.

The aircraft's black boxes have been sent to France for analysis.

Officials said an interim finding on the cause of the crash may be known by early next week, though a final report would take about a year.

According to Sanders, the number of casualties had been reduced by the fact that the plane did not catch fire when it crashed.

"It may have something to do with the fact that it came down in a muddy field rather than on a concrete road or on a landing strip where sparks would have increased the chances of a fire."

The straight angle at which the plane fell may indicate that it "had lost its forward momentum, that there was no motor function," he added.

A large white tent was erected near the crash site Thursday, with investigators in white suits and face masks swarming in and out of the wreck.

Turkish newspapers, meanwhile, criticised Turkish Airlines (THY) and the Turkish government for their handling of the crash, accusing them of creating a separate "crisis" by contradicting early reports of deaths.

The popular Vatan newspaper called announcements that all had survived a "scandal," while Aksam said the aftermath "turned from celebration to torture" for relatives.

AFP