10 killed in plane crash at Addison Airport
ADDISON, Texas - The medical examiner has confirmed that 10 people were killed when a plane crashed into a hangar and started a fire at the Addison Municipal Airport Sunday morning.
According to Addison officials, the plane experienced some sort of failure during takeoff, before crashing into an unoccupied hangar just after 9 a.m.
The airport was closed for about 45 minutes after the crash as firefighters worked to put out the flames that broke out because of the crash.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the twin-engine Beechcraft BE-350 King Air was destroyed by the fire.
Authorities say all 10 on board were killed in the crash.
The plane was headed for St. Petersburg, officials said.
Several people nearby witnessed the plane going down and saw the crash as it happened.
“I’ve never seen anything so tragic, I mean, it was very surreal to watch an airplane crash,” David Snell, said.
Snell was getting ready to fly from Addison Airport with a friend Sunday morning, when they heard a plane taking off that didn’t sound quite right.
“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,’” Snell recalled.
Other witnesses at the airport also reported seeing the plane having issues during takeoff.
“He got onto the runway, went down the runway, started taking off. He got to about 200 feet, and I saw him starting to lose power and his altitude, and then I see him just roll over and came straight down right into the building,” Peter Drake said.
Within seconds, the plane crashed into a hangar.
Cell phone video from witnesses showed heavy smoke billowing from the building as firefighters worked to put out the flames.
“I was in shock, I was really in shock. You see this stuff on videos and YouTube, but you can’t believe you’re actually seeing it in real life happening. It was insane. It was crazy,” Drake added.
“It all happened over the course of about 10 seconds, and it went from watching an airplane trying to climb and fly, to a huge fireball with debris everywhere. It was really awful,” Snell said.
The crash happened near an Addison fire station, so firefighters were able to get there quickly, but the FAA says the aircraft was destroyed in the crash.
“I’ve flown for 33 years, I’ve heard of crashes and stuff like that, I’ve never witnessed one with a bigger airplane,” Snell said. “That was really a horrific thing to see because somebody’s life, lives, family’s lives were forever changed, it’s awful.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be in charge of the investigation. NTSB crews arrived on scene at 7 p.m. Sunday