CARLSTADT, N.J. (CBS)—Authorities are investigating after a plane from Philadelphia crashed near an airport in New Jersey on Monday.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration a Learjet 35 went down as it approached the runaway at Teterboro Airport.

The crash happened about ¼ a mile from the Teterboro Airport in a wooded area.

Thick plumes of smoke can be seen billowing near the crash scene.

“It was like a missile just came down,” one witness told CBS New York.

It’s reported that the crash sent more than a dozen cars up in flames.

“All the cars were on fire, all the fuel went all over it,” said the witness.

Authorities tell CBS New York that two crewmembers of the plane were killed.

The FAA says the flight departed from Philadelphia International Airport and was headed to Teterboro.

This story will be updated. </s> (ABC NEWS) -- Two crewmembers are dead after a small plane crashed this afternoon in an industrial area in the northern New Jersey town of Carlstadt, police say.

The Federal Aviation Administration said a Learjet 35 that was en route from Philadelphia International Airport to New Jersey's Teterboro Airport crashed at 3:30 p.m. while on approach to Runway 1 at Teterboro.

The plane went down in a residential area about a quarter of a mile from the airport, the FAA said.

There were no passengers on the plane and it appears that no one on the ground was hit, police say.

The FAA is heading to the scene.

Video on Twitter showed smoke billowing across the sky.

This story is developing. Please check back for more updates. </s> CARLSTADT, N.J. — The pilot and co-pilot died in a Learjet crash Monday afternoon as it approached Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, Carlstadt Police dispatcher Don Pomponio said.

The Learjet 35 crashed about a half-mile from the airport in Teterboro, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

A witness captured videos of the huge plume of black smoke coming from the wreckage and crews working to extinguish the flames.

The fire damaged at least one building and multiple cars.

No one else was on the plane, Carlstadt Police said. There were no injuries on the ground, police said.

The airport is 12 miles from midtown Manhattan. It handles general aviation and charter flights, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. </s> Two people aboard a Learjet were killed when the aircraft crashed Monday afternoon near Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, Carlstadt Mayor Craig Lahullier said

Initially, Carlstadt Police said the pilot and co-pilot had died but hours later authorities said they couldn’t immediately confirm their deaths.

Authorities said information on the two people on board will be provided by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Learjet 35 crashed around 3:30 p.m. about a quarter-mile from the airport in Bergen County as it approached a runway, the FAA said.

There were no injuries on the ground, police said.

The flight departed from Philadelphia International Airport, according to the FAA.

Carlstadt Police Deputy Chief Thomas Berta said the FAA wrapped up its work at the scene late Monday. The agency will work with the NTSB, which is investigating, according to Berta.

Earlier, police said authorities arrived at the crash scene to find that fire had engulfed two industrial buildings near a Carlstadt Department of Public Works building.

The last employee left the building about 15 minutes before the crash and locked the gate, Lahullier said.

“When we got there, in the middle of the fire … our gate was still locked, which gave us a good indication that he had already left the building,” the mayor said.

He added: “It’s a miracle. We were all out of there at that time.”

Video from the crash showed smoke billowing in the air.

“You could see parts of the engine,” he said. “They moved everybody else back because they started finding more parts of the airplane over by some of the other warehouse areas.”

The aircraft, which was built in 1981, is owned by A&C Big Sky Aviation LLC in Billings, Montana, according to FAA records. The company couldn’t be immediately reached.

The crash is the 53rd fatal Learjet 35 accident since 1977, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

Teterboro Airport is 12 miles from midtown Manhattan. It handles general aviation and charter flights, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

It is the oldest operating airport in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area, according to the airport’s website. </s> Story highlights Two people were killed in the crash, police say

Police: No injures on the ground

(CNN) Two people aboard a Learjet were killed when the aircraft crashed Monday afternoon near Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, Carlstadt Mayor Craig Lahullier said

Initially, Carlstadt Police said the pilot and co-pilot had died but hours later authorities said they couldn't immediately confirm their deaths.

Authorities said information on the two people on board will be provided by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Learjet 35 crashed around 3:30 p.m. about a quarter-mile from the airport in Bergen County as it approached a runway, the FAA said.

There were no injuries on the ground, police said.

Read More </s> CARLSTADT, N.J. (AP) – A jet crashed at a small airport outside of New York City Monday afternoon, killing two crew members.

No passengers were aboard the Learjet 35 when it went down around 3:30 p.m. near Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.

A Carlstadt town spokesman said that the plane crashed into a building in an industrial area. No one on the ground was injured.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation. </s> A Learjet crashed Monday while trying to land at a New Jersey airport, and several buildings were on fire, authorities told NBC News.

It wasn’t immediately known how many people were aboard the Learjet 35, which has a capacity of eight passengers and two pilots. There were also no immediate word on injuries.

The Federal Aviation Administration said 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.

Joe Orlando, a spokesman for the Borough of Carlstadt, told NBC News the plane hit at least three separate properties, including a Department of Public Works facility. He said the scene was like “something out of a movie.”

The airport was closed as thick smoke billowed over the scene. No further details were immediately available.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.

Smoke pours into the air after a small plane crashed in Carlstadt, New Jersey, on Monday. NBC New York </s> A small plane on Monday crashed on approach near Teterboro Airport in New Jersey killing two pilots and sparking fires at two buildings that could be seen from New York, the Federal Aviation Administration and local police said.

The FAA said the Learjet 35 departed Philadelphia and went down at 3:30 p.m. local time about a quarter mile from the airport in a residential area in northern New Jersey on approach to Runway One. Carlstadt Police Sergeant John Cleary told reporters the plane hit one building in an industrial or manufacturing area, skidded across a parking lot and broke apart. The flaming debris then set a second building on fire, he said.

“The plane was seen listing to its left side so obviously there was some sort of malfunction,” Cleary said.

Carlstadt Police Department Sergeant Scott Jordan said two pilots had been killed in the crash.

No passengers were aboard the flight and Jordan had no information on the status of anyone on the ground.

The area around the fire scene was crowded with police and rescue equipment as smoke poured from a building still on fire. Some vehicles were also damaged on the ground at the crash site.

The FAA did not release information about the status of anyone aboard the aircraft. The FAA said it is sending a team to the site.

Teterboro Airport said in a statement it "has been closed and flight operations ceased following the crash of a Learjet on final approach to the airport." Flight data compiled by Flightaware, a website that tracks plane movements, said the Learjet 35 had started the day at Teterboro and flown to Massachusetts before flying to Philadelphia. The National Weather Service said strong winds had been reported in the area. </s> A Learjet 35 crashed Monday as it approached a runway at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The plane crashed about a half-mile from the airport in Teterboro.

The flight departed from Philadelphia International Airport and the FAA is on the way to the scene.
A Philadelphia-originating Learjet crashes in Carlstadt as it approached Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, killing at least two people.