Montgomery County Fire and Rescue said a small plane has crashed in the Laytonsville, Maryland, area, killing one person.
Officials said the crash occurred near Ruppert Landscaping, located at 23601 Laytonsville Road, shortly before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The business closed at 5 p.m.
Fire and rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said the plane, described as a Cessna-type plane, caught fire. He said one person was killed.
"Small single engine plane associated with nearby Davis Airfield," Piringer said. "They believe there was only one person on the lane, and unfortunately, he did not survive the crash and fire."
National Transportation Safety Board investigators responded to the scene.
"The airplane had some recent maintenance work done on it, brakes, from what I understand," said NTSB investigator Brian Rayner. "The airplane took off. The engine sounded normal. And then, depending on the witness accounts, about 500 to 1,000 feet above ground level, the pilot reported to air traffic control that he'd experienced an engine failure."
A witness, Steven Bennett, said he saw the plane as it looked to barrel roll before the crash. He ran to the scene and arrived before emergency crews.
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"I just made a path through the cornfield, so they could run in there, and we got to the plane and saw that it was on fire," Bennett said. "I just kind of walked away. There was nothing anybody could do at that point in time."
Davis Airport is located to the west of the crash site. Bill Harvey, who was not on scene but answered the phone for the Davis Airport, said he was told there was a crash about 2 to 3 miles from the airport. Employees told him he could see the smoke.
Units from Howard County are also responded to the scene..
