No major injuries were reported when a Boston-bound plane carrying more than 20 people struck a fence and erupted in flames while taking off at Houston Executive Airport on morning, officials said.
All passengers and crew managed to leave the plane safely — two with minor injuries — before firefighters extinguished the flames engulfing the McDonnell Douglas MD-87 on a field outside the airport, local officials said.
“This is a good day. This is actually a day of celebration for a lot of people,” Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Sgt. Stephen Woodard told reporters at the scene.
One person reported back pain, Waller County Judge Trey Duhon reported via Facebook.
“The information we have at this time indicates that the plane did not attain altitude at the end of the runway and went across Morton Road, coming to a rest in the field just north of the airport, where it caught on fire,” the judge said.
Another person had respiratory issues, Woodard said. Both were transported to a hospital but later returned to the airport.
The MD-87 “rolled through a fence and caught fire in a field” just after 10 a.m. while attempting to depart, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.
The plane traveled about 500 feet on the runaway before the crash, Woodard said.
Hr said there were 18 passengers, two pilots and an attendant on board. He had earlier said there were 22 people on the plane.
The youngest passenger was 10 years old, according to the sergeant.
The fire has been extinguished, Woodard said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be investigating, with the NTSB as the lead agency.
First responders were seen at the site where the plane appeared to stop across a dirt path and caught fire, according to news footage.
Tim Gibson, director of the Waller Harris Emergency Services District 200, said all passengers had “self-extricated” and the teams assisted them from the field where the plane crashed.
A plane crashed near Houston, Texas with as many as nine people onboard, authorities said.
Aerial images showed the plane fully engulfed in flames.
Officials gave an update on the crash and said the passengers self-evacuated and there were no deaths.
A private jet burst into flames during a take-off attempt at a small airport outside Houston, but all 21 people on board managed to escape without serious injury, U.S. aviation officials said.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-87 was departing the Houston Executive Airport just after 10 a.m. local time (1500 GMT) when it rolled through a fence and caught fire, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in an email to Reuters.
All 18 passengers and three crew members were able to get out safely. Two people were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Waller County Sheriff Troy Guidry told Reuters.
The passengers were headed to Boston to see the Houston Astros play the Red Sox in Game 4 of Major League Baseball’s American League Championship Series, Guidry said.
The plane is registered to J. Alan Kent, who owns Flair Builders, a Houston-based custom homebuilder, ABC 13 Eyewitness News in Houston reported.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash, the FAA said.
A jet carrying about 20 people heading from Texas to Boston for an MLB playoff game crashed and burst into flames — but all passengers and crew survived. First responders rushed to the scene after the plane crashed shortly after taking off from Houston Executive Airport, according to officials in Waller County, near the city of Houston.
The airport is mostly used by corporate clientele, outlets report. Waller County officials said 19 passengers and crew were aboard. While the cause of the accident is under investigation, FAA officials said the aircraft crashed through a fence during takeoff before coming to a stop in a field and catching fire around 10 a.m., KTRK reported. Everyone on board was able to get out of the plane, county officials said. One passenger was injured.
The plane is registered to J. Alan Kent, the owner of a Houston-based custom home construction company.
The passengers were heading to Boston for game 4 of the American League Championship Series, with the Houston Astros facing off against the Boston Red Sox, KPRC reported. Officials identified the plane as a McDonnell Douglas model MD-80, which can seat up to 172 passengers.
Nearly two dozen people escaped serious injury when a large jet crashed while attempting to take off from Houston Executive Airport.
the FAA said an MD-87 destined for Boston departed at about 10:08 a.m. and was unable to get off the ground.
The large plane rolled through an airport fence before crossing Morton Road north of the airport. It came to rest among dense brush in a pasture where it then caught fire.
Officials said all 21 people on board, including 18 passengers and three crew members, were able to exit the aircraft on their own without suffering serious injury.
Two passengers were transported to nearby hospitals after reporting back pain and respiratory issues after the crash. It’s not clear if the injured were passengers or crew.
Video from KPRC-TV’s helicopter showed the plane on fire with most of the fuselage having been consumed by fire. The tail section and two engines were all that remained after the fire was extinguished.
Further details about the cause of the crash have not yet been revealed. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will investigate.
Houston Executive Airport is west of Houston, between Katy and Brookshire, north of Interstate 10.
