A small plane crashed near the San Antonio International Airport in Texas on Sunday night, killing all the three people on board.

Confirming the crash, San Antonio Fire chief Charles Hood said the plane was en route to Boerne when it developed engine problems and crashed in an industrial area. Hood added that the pilot of the twin-engine plane had notified the San Antonio International Airport that they were heading back to the airport to make an emergency landing, however, couldn’t make it.

"Units arrived and found the plane almost on the sidewalk, kind of the sidewalk, half of the street. There were no commercial buildings hit, no apartment complexes. We are confirming three fatalities at this time," he said.

Hood added that "as tragic as it is, it could have been much worse" had it crashed on busy Highway 281 or an apartment complex. No bystanders were hurt and no structures were damaged in the incident.

Speaking to San Antonio NBC affiliate WOAI, a witness said the aircraft took a nosedive and crashed.

"It made like a little whirly sound. They were asking me if it sounded like it hit anything, and besides the ground, I couldn't hear anything. But it made a whoosh sound when it was diving,” the witness recalled.

An investigation will be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board.

plane crash
In this image, the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane lies in a field after it crashed outside of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama, Aug. 14, 2013. NTSB via Getty Images
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