Aviation accident Plane crashes in New Jersey

Plane crashes into New Jersey home, sparking house fire "We don't believe any civilians on the ground were impacted by the crash," Woodbridge Township Mayor John E. McCormac said.

A Cessna 414 plane crashed into a home in New Jersey Tuesday morning, engulfing two houses in flames, local fire officials said. The crash was in Colonia, about 22 miles outside of New York City. Video from the scene shows massive flames and plumes of smoke rising into the air.

Fire erupted at the home that was hit and quickly spread to two neighboring homes. Up to 200 firefighters from nine different firehouses battled the fires. Only the pilot was on board, officials said, and no-one on the ground was injured. The condition of the pilot wasn’t immediately known.

At the time of the crash, Linden Airport the closest observation site to the incident reported that the visibility dropped from 10 miles to two miles between 10:55 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Weather conditions also included calm winds, mist and a ceiling of 700 feet.

Up to 200 firefighters from nine different firehouses battled the blazes after a Cessna 414 crashed into the home at 11 a.m. The fires were brought under control by around 12:30 p.m.

Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac told reporters the aircraft originated in Virginia and appeared to have been trying to make it to an airport in nearby Linden when it crashed into a home that was unoccupied at the time. A woman in one of the houses that caught fire escaped injury, the mayor added.

Dennis Protsko, who is on the chopper team for NBC New York, lives a block away from the crash and heard the impact. He said "very heavy" flames and smoke had been coming from one home but were starting to die down.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are at the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board also will investigate, according to the FAA.