WALLER COUNTY, Texas (WGNO) — In a scene that could only be scripted in Hollywood, all 21 people aboard a MD-97 jet plane headed to Boston miraculously walked away from a fiery crash near Houston on Tuesday.
The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed to ABC13 the incident occurred on takeoff in the southeast corner of Waller County near the Houston Executive Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration claims the plane caught fire in a field after rolling through a fence near the runway while trying to depart the airport around 10 a.m.
In a web story co-authored by ABC13 reporters Pooja Lodhia, Brhe Berry and Stefania Okolie, 18 passengers as well as all three crewmembers escaped the fiery wreckage safely. Among the passengers was a local Texas contracting executive headed to Game 4 of the MLB American League Championship Series between the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night, as well as a 10-year-old child, who was the reportedly the youngest passenger on board.
According to the ABC13 report, two of the people on board the aircraft were sent to the hospital for medical treatment. The extent of their injuries has not been revealed.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash.