A rescue operation is ongoing. At least 15 people are known to have died
and several more of those on board were injured.
The Associated Airlines plane was bound for Akure, which lies about 140
miles (225km) north-east of Lagos.
The plane's engine appeared to fail and the aircraft plunged to the
ground and burst into flames, officials said.
The charter flight took off at about 09:30 local time (08:30 GMT) from
the domestic terminal at Lagos's Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
Officials said the plane crashed on to open land within the airport
complex, close to a fuel storage depot.
It is not yet clear whether the fuel caught fire.
Eyewitness Ahmad Safian told the BBC: "I heard a loud bang and then
there was lots of black smoke. The security forces rushed straight to the
scene. I saw three bodies removed from the wreckage."
Mr Safian said the road to the airport was blocked for a short time but
operations were continuing as normal at the airport.
Yakubu Dati from the Nigerian airports authority said that 20 people had
been on board the plane.
Akure is the capital of Ondo state. Local media reported that the plane
was carrying the body of the former state governor, Olusegun Agagu, who was to
have been buried this weekend.
Although Nigeria's air safety record has improved in recent years, the
country has a history of major passenger plane crashes.
In June 2012, more than 150 people were killed after a dual engine
failure caused a plane to crash in Lagos.
Lagos airport is a
major hub for West Africa and saw 2.3 million passengers pass through it in
2009, according to the most recent statistics provided by the Federal Airports
Authority of Nigeria.
Aviation in Nigeria
• Seven major air crashes since 1992
• Security in the sector was revamped in 2007
• All airlines had to re-capitalise or be grounded, in an effort to
ensure better safety
• In August 2010, the US gave Nigeria its top safety rating, allowing
its domestic carriers to fly directly to America
• Lagos's Murtala Muhammed Airport is a major transport hub for West
Africa, with 2.3 million passengers passing through it in 2009
• Nigeria's
government says it now has full radar coverage of the entire country
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