2 dead, 1 injured after small plane crashes into North Carolina home

HOPE MILLS, N.C. -- A single-engine plane crashed into a North Carolina home, killing the pilot and someone inside the house, authorities said. Another person in the house was seriously hurt.

The civilian plane went down shortly before midnight Thursday in Hope Mills, according to the State Highway Patrol. The pilot and one occupant of the house died on the scene, while the injured person was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. Their identities weren't immediately released.

Aerial images from news helicopters show a home surrounded by yellow police tape with nearly half its roof smashed in and debris scattered around the residential lot. The home is in the vicinity of U.S. Highway 301, less than 5 miles (8 kilometers) southwest of the Fayetteville Regional Airport. Nearby are several businesses along with homes on other residential streets.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. Troopers and Cumberland County deputies were awaiting federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration as of early Friday.

Neighbors told WTVD-TV they heard the plane's engine making sputtering noises. Jennifer Kelton's family was having dinner when they heard the plane pass, followed by an explosion.

"I never heard anything that loud," she told the station. "It really did buzz over the roof."