Small plane crash kills 2 men near Afton, Minnesota

AFTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - Two men were killed after a small plane crashed near a house in Afton on Saturday, according to officials. 

The crash happened in a residential area on the 15000 block of Afton Hills Drive South. Washington County officials say dispatch started receiving calls around 9:43 a.m. reporting a possible explosion. 

At the scene, crews located a small airplane fully engulfed in flames near a residential home. Two men, an 85-year-old from White Bear Lake and a 65-year-old from Baytown Township, were killed in the crash. 

"It did sound like the engine was maybe kind of stalling out, kind of coming and going, like they were trying to put the gas on or something, and then it just kind of completely stopped," neighbor Lisa told FOX 9.

"When I looked outside of our house, I actually saw a plane in the sky, going straight down," Lisa continued.  "And then a big cloud of black smoke along with the loud crash sound."

The plane had just taken off from Lake Elmo Airport before the crash. 

Authorities on the scene of a fatal plane crash in Afton, Minnesota.  (FOX 9)

By the time neighbors were able to get to the crash site, the plane was already fully engulfed in flames, "It was just a lot of black smoke that went straight up within seconds of hearing the crash. It kind of exploded," Lisa explained.

Officials said the nearby house was not damaged. But, there appears to be some smoke damage to the corner of the garage. 

The family inside the home at the time of the crash were not injured. 

"It sounds like the residents were home at the time and did hear some of what happened," Laura Perkins of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said. "The house was undamaged."

The plane that crashed was a Globe GC1 airplane, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident. Officials did not say what caused the plane to crash.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.