Federal officials said 10 people - two crew and eight passengers - died in a small plane crash which started a fire at a Dallas-area airport on Sunday morning.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the twin-engine Beechcraft BE-350 King Air crashed into an unoccupied hangar at the Addison Municipal Airport shortly after 9am.

Edward Martelle, a spokesman for the town located just north of Dallas, said the plane crashed during takeoff and the resulting fire was quickly extinguished.

The town has confirmed that there were 10 fatalities as a result of the incident.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted on Sunday night officials have briefed all of the victims' families. Their names have not been made public as of Monday morning.

FAA investigators were at the crash site Sunday afternoon and the National Transportation Safety Board sent an eight-person go-team to the scene.

At least 10 people are dead in a small plane crash at Addison Municipal Airport near Dallas on Sunday

Edward Martelle, a spokesman for the town immediately north of Dallas, said the plane crashed during takeoff and the resulting fire was quickly extinguished

The airport hangar is seen above on fire shortly after the twin-engine plane crashed into it

The Federal Aviation Administration says the twin-engine Beechcraft BE-350 King Air crashed into an unoccupied hangar at the Addison Municipal Airport soon after 9am. The above image is a stock photo of the same plane

Addison Airport is a small airport that is about 20 miles from Dallas

National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said the plane had recently changed hands so it’s not clear what the proper tail number currently was.

Jennifer Rodi, the NTSB’s lead investigator on the accident, said it had previously been owned by a private charter company in Chicago.

Images and video from the scene show plumes of thick, black smoke rising toward the sky as the airport hangar was set on fire.

Local fire department personnel rushed to the scene in an attempt to put out the blaze, multiple media outlets reported.

According to FlightAware, the plane was bound for St. Petersburg, Florida, where it was scheduled to land at 1:18pm local time.

The plane’s activity log from the previous 10 days shows that the aircraft made numerous flights to Eagle, Colorado; Denver, and Aspen.

Dallas County was helping the city of Addison set up a family assistance center for people affected by the crash, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said.

The center is staffed with chaplains, counselors and other mental health and support workers, he said.

'It's a horrible, sad, shocking thing to lose a family member like this,' Jenkins told The Associated Press.

'So we're doing whatever we can to comfort them.'

Martelle said the plane was taking off at the south end of the airport and had just lifted off the runway when it veered left, dropped its left wing and went into the hangar.

According to FlightAware, the plane was bound for St. Petersburg, Florida, where it was scheduled to land at 1:18pm local time

The plane’s activity log from the previous 10 days shows that the aircraft made numerous flights to Eagle, Colorado; Denver, and Aspen

Witnesses who saw the plane crash say it struggled on takeoff and appeared to lose power.

David Snell, who was getting ready to fly from Addison with a friend Sunday morning, told KDFW TV that the plane didn't sound right on takeoff.

He says: '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".'

Peter Drake says he saw the plane crash into the hangar.

The plane '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,' he said.