5 killed when small plane crashes through Arizona airport fence and hits car - WSVN 7News

(CNN) — Five people were killed Tuesday afternoon when a small plane crashed through a fence and hit a car while aborting takeoff at an Arizona airport, officials said.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the Honda HA-420 plane crashed at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa — a city about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Phoenix — around 4:40 p.m.

“Preliminary information indicates that the aircraft struck the airport fence and a passenger vehicle during a rejected takeoff,” the NTSB said in an emailed statement to CNN on Wednesday morning.

The crash killed five people, according to Marrisa Ramirez-Ramos, a spokesperson for the Mesa Fire and Medical Department, who declined to comment further on the deaths.

“Five people were aboard the aircraft,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to CNN. “The aircraft struck a vehicle outside the airport grounds.”

Fire officials, the FAA and the NTSB did not specify whether anyone outside the plane was injured or if anyone was inside the vehicle when it was hit.

The plane crashed through a metal fence and “some concrete walls,” said a witness, Joshua Golabi CNN affiliate KPNX.

Golabi, a pilot himself, said he did not see the impact of the crash, but heard it.

“We were just about to get on our plane and leave when we heard a bang and saw a plume of smoke,” Golabi said.

The plane was at one point consumed by flames, KPNX reports.

“It’s just very shocking and it reminds all pilots to always fly and maneuver as safely as possible,” Golabi said.

Officials have not identified the victims. The NTSB is leading the investigation into the crash, a spokesperson said.