Ten people were killed when a small plane crashed into a hangar as it was taking off from a Texas airport, officials said.
No-one aboard the twin-engine plane survived the incident at Addison Municipal Airport, about 32 km (20 miles) north of Dallas, on Sunday morning, town spokeswoman Mary Rosenbleeth said.
The Beechcraft BE-350 King Air struggled to gain altitude after taking off, veered to one side and plunged into a hangar, authorities and witnesses said.
Officials said two crew members and eight passengers were killed when the twin-engine plane, scheduled to fly to St Petersburg, Florida, crashed at the Addison Municipal Airport at 9.11am.
The identities of those killed were not immediately released.
“We don’t know a lot about the people on board at this point,” national transportation safety board vice chairman Bruce Landsberg said.
Officials say the aircraft hit a hangar that then burst into flames with black smoke billowing from the building as firefighters sprayed it with water.
A plane and helicopter in the hangar were damaged, but there were no people in the building.
Edward Martelle, a spokesman for the town of Addison, said the plane was taking off at the south end of the airport and had just lifted off the runway when it veered left, dropped its left wing and went into the hangar.
Asked if the behaviour of the plane indicated engine failure, Mr Landsberg said: “We cannot confirm that there was an engine failure at this point.”
“There are any number of possibilities that could occur,” he said.–PA