Five killed as small jet crashes into vehicle after take off

Police said that at least five people have been killed after a small plane took off from a suburban airport in Phoenix, Arizona - the H4-420 struck a vehicle outside the airport

At least five people have been killed after a small jet crashed into a vehicle just moments after taking off from a small airport.

The plane crashed after it took off from Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, Phoenix, Arizona, according to police. The Honda HA-420 small business jet smashed into the vehicle outside the airport at about 4:40pm local time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

Video shared by news outlets appeared to show a large fire on the road close to the airport. Authorities confirmed five people died at the scene.

"Five people were on board the plane," the FAA said in a statement to the FAA. "The aircraft struck a vehicle outside of the airport property."

A spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board told CNN : "Preliminary information indicates that the plane impacted the airport perimeter fence and a passenger vehicle during an aborted take-off."

The cause of the deadly crash are unknown at this time.

Witness Joshua Golabi told the network the plane crashed through a metal fence and concrete walls. Golabi, who is a pilot himself, said he did not see the crash but that he heard it.

"We were just about to get into our aircraft and go when we heard a pop and saw a plume of smoke," he said. "It's just very jarring and it's a reminder to all pilots to always fly and manoeuvre as safe as you can."