All 21 passengers onboard a civilian plane that crashed on takeoff near Houston, Texas on Tuesday, are said to have survived.
All 21 passengers and crew managed to extricate themselves from the plane before it caught fire, firefighters and officials reported. local authorities.
“Everyone on the plane, the 18 passengers and three crew members, survived,” said Sgt Stephen Woodard of the Texas Department of Public Safety at a press conference.
According to report, the accident happened shortly after 10 a.m. local time. The plane, a McDonnell Douglas twin-engine bound for Boston, collided with a fence and then caught fire in a field, according to a statement from the US aviation regulator (FAA).
The aircraft was almost completely destroyed by the fire, with only the tail of the aircraft remaining intact, as impressive footage from a local television station shows.
“They were stunned, very stunned”
Only a slight injury is to be deplored, according to Trey Duhon, a local official. Passengers, who were on their way to a baseball game, managed to extricate themselves from the device and firefighters were finally able to put out the blaze, reported Tim Gibson, director of local emergency services.
“They were stunned, very stunned,” he added, stressing that the accident had ended “in the best possible way”.
The youngest of the passengers was a 10-year-old child, authorities said. An investigation has been opened by the FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Council.