Plane Crash
In this representational image, a police officer photographs the wreckage of a DC-3 World War II vintage cargo plane bound for Marsh Harbor, Bahamas, which crash-landed approximately three miles east from the Commercial Executive Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, June 13, 2005. Getty Images/ Richard Patterson

A small plane crashed in a Sioux Falls neighborhood in South Dakota on Tuesday, leaving one person dead.

Sioux Falls Emergency Manager Regan Smith said they received a call about the crash around 5 p.m. CT (6:00 p.m. EST) and police were dispatched to investigate the scene. The area of E. 49th St. and Birchwood Avenue, Sioux Falls, was heavily impacted by the crash.

The deceased was on the plane when it crashed, believed to be its pilot. According to authorities the number of fatalities could increase as the investigation goes on.

The crash caused multiple homes to catch fire. Firefighters were working to put out the flames, while Red Cross worked to find shelters for families from two homes which sustained heavy damage.

Residents who lived a few blocks away rushed to help out after the crash.

“[It] sounded like a plane did a nose dive into the ground," Max Jamison, one of the residents told CNN. Another, Joe Harris, recalled, “I was at a Christmas gathering with my parents when we heard the explosion and saw the fire. We ran about three blocks to the site."

Apart from the local police and fire departments, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, Minnehaha County Sheriff, Paramedics Plus, Xcel Energy, MidAmerican Energy and Airport Authority responded to the scene.

More details were not immediately available. The Federal Aviation Administration did not answer any media questions regarding the incident Tuesday, citing the partial shutdown of the federal government.

“We’re working this through the evening as far as continuing the search and seeing what’s going on in the neighborhood and making sure that everything is OK,” Smith said in a statement regarding the incident, adding that "large debris field associated with the scene" had been left behind due to the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating to determine the exact number of occupants of the aircraft at the time of the crash.

Sioux Falls city council member Rick Kiley, who represents the neighborhood where the crash occurred, offered his condolences to those involved in or otherwise affected by the incident.

"This is a terrible tragedy anytime but to have it occur on Christmas just makes it even worse," he said. "My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this terrible event."

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