A COMMUTER plane carrying 21 people crashed into an airport hangar on take-off yesterday and burst into flames, killing everyone aboard, US authorities said.

The cause of the plane crash in North Carolina – the first fatal airliner accident in the US for more than a year – is not immediately clear but investigators are examining the windy conditions as the plane sped down the runway .

Nineteen people are feared to have died when a commuter plane crashed shortly after taking off from Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina today.