Pilot killed when small plane hits North Carolina home, 3 inside unharmed, officials say

SOUTHPORT, N.C. (AP) — A pilot was killed when a single-engine plane crashed into a home a few blocks from an airport in coastal North Carolina on Sunday, and three people in the home escaped without injury, officials said.

Firefighters found the plane fully engulfed in flames, with the exterior of the home burning, too, Southport Fire Chief Charles Drew said in a social media post. The people in the home at the time got out on their own, and the fire was contained within 15 minutes, he said.

The plane had taken off from nearby Cape Fear Regional Jetport, Drew said. Only the pilot was aboard the Mooney M20R when it left the airport at 4:15 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. A preliminary FAA report shows that the pilot was killed.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

Airport Director Howie Franklin said staffers told him that the pilot radioed about five minutes into the flight saying he wanted to come back, the Wilmington Star-News reported.

“But he didn’t make it,” Franklin said.