A plane crashed at takeoff on Tuesday in Texas, with all 21 passengers and crew on board scrambling to safety before the aircraft burst into flames.

Television images showed fire fighters spraying water onto the burning remains of the plane, which came to a halt across a track in a field, surrounded by trees and bushes.

The fuselage was reduced to ashes, with only the tail section surviving as black smoke poured from the wreckage.

"Fortunately all 21 passengers including three crew members were reported as safely evacuated from this twin-engine jet before it was fully engulfed in flames," the Katy Fire Department said in a statement.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-87 plane was taking off from Houston Executive Airport, Brookshire, bound for Boston when it crashed, officials said.

Local reports said it was taking fans to watch a play-off baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday evening.

Tim Gibson, director of the Waller Harris county emergency services, said the passengers and crew "were stunned, they were very, very stunned, but they did all self-extricate."

"We're always expecting the worst but hoping for the best -- in today, we absolutely positively got the best outcome we can hope for on this incident," Gibson told a press conference.