Cockpit voice recorder recovered following fatal crash in Texas which killed 10

Federal officials investigating the crash of a small plane that killed 10 at a suburban Dallas airport say they have recovered the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder.

National Transportation Safety Board vice chairman Bruce Landsberg said at a news conference on Monday afternoon that the contents of the recorder are being downloaded in their Washington laboratory.

Landsberg said it is not yet known what’s on the recorder, but noted that the communications between the pilots and air traffic control appeared normal.

The deaths occurred when a small plane crashed into a hangar as it was taking off from a Texas airport on Sunday morning, officials said.

No-one aboard the twin-engine plane survived the incident at Addison Municipal Airport, about 20 miles (32 kilometres) north of Dallas, on Sunday morning, town spokeswoman Mary Rosenbleeth said.

The Beechcraft BE-350 King Air struggled to gain altitude after taking off, veered to one side and plunged into a hangar, authorities and witnesses said.

Officials have released the identities of some of those killed, including two teenage sisters and their stepfather.

Officials say the aircraft hit a hangar that then burst into flames with black smoke billowing from the building as firefighters sprayed it with water.

A plane and helicopter in the hangar were damaged, but there were no people in the building.