Two crew members were killed and several buildings were set ablaze when a Learjet carrying no passengers crashed Monday while trying to land at a New Jersey airport, authorities said.
The Federal Aviation Administration told NBC News that the plane, which was flying from Philadelphia International Airport, went down about a quarter-mile short of Teterboro Airport in Carlstadt, about 15 miles northeast of Newark, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Carlstadt police told NBC New York that neither crew member survived.
The airport, a major hub for general aviation in the New York region, was closed as thick smoke poured from the scene.
No one on the ground was believed to have been injured, and the fires were 90 percent suppressed early Monday evening, Deputy Carlstadt Police Chief Thomas Berta said at a news conference.
Joe Orlando, a spokesman for the Borough of Carlstadt, told NBC News the plane hit at least three properties, including a Department of Public Works facility. He said the scene was like "something out of a movie."
"Parts of the plane are laying in the garage," Orlando said. "I can see the engines, part of the fuselage. There's just melted cars all over the place in our yard."
"It's just shocking, really shocking," Christopher Pastor, a witness, told NBC New York. "It's sad, because those pilots have families."
The National Transportation Safety Board told NBC News it was gathering information and hadn't yet decided whether to send an investigative team.
