It has been reported that both pilots and all eight passengers on board a twin-engine plane, understood to be a Beechcraft King Air 350, have been killed after it crashed into a hangar moments after taking off from Dallas-Addison Airport, Texas on Sunday at 9 a.m. local time. The flight was bound for St. Petersburg, Florida.
According to eyewitnesses, the non-commercial flight was in trouble immediately after taking off and appeared to be lacking power, after which it banked to the left and instead of gaining in altitude, crashed into an adjacent hangar before bursting into flames. There were no ground casualties, though a Falcon 900 jet and helicopter in the hangar were extensively damaged.
It is anticipated that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will produce a preliminary report on the crash in approximately two weeks’ time. The airport, located some 15 miles to the north of Dallas is popular with business travelers. The Beechcraft King Air 350, a twin-turboprop aircraft powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-60A engines, is often used for business trips, though it can easily be configured as a cargo plane or air ambulance. The ER version has a maximum range of 2,692 nm with a maximum cruising speed of 303 ktas and is well suited to smaller airports, requiring a 4,057ft runway for takeoff