Ten people were killed when a small, twin-engine plane crashed into a hangar during takeoff at a Dallas-area airport on Sunday.
Federal officials said two crew members and eight passengers were on board the plane, headed to St Petersburg in Florida, when crashed at 9:11am on Sunday at the Addison Municipal Airport.
Edward Martelle, a spokesman for the town, said the plane crashed during takeoff and the resulting fire was quickly extinguished.
“The Dallas County Medical Examiner has confirmed 10 fatalities and no survivors,” a spokeswoman for the town of Addison told AFP.
The plane was heading from Addison to St. Petersburg, Florida and was carrying two flight crew and eight passengers, said Bruce Landsberg, Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
NTSB investigator Jennifer Rodi said the plane — which had changed ownership recently — hit a private hangar at the airport.
David Snell, who was waiting for another flight at the airport, told local news channel KDFW TV he saw the plane take off.
“It looked like it was clearly reduced power. I didn’t know if it was on purpose or not, but then, when the plane started to veer to the left and you could tell it couldn’t climb. My friend and I looked at each other and we’re like, ‘Oh my God. They’re going to crash’,” he said.
CBS News quoted sources as saying the Beechcraft lost an engine on takeoff and veered into the hangar.
A massive column of black smoke poured out of a building at the airport in Addison after the crash, as firefighters directed streams of water toward the blaze.
“There are any number of possibilities that could occur,” the NTSB’s Landsberg told a press conference.
