FALMOUTH, Mass. (WHDH) — A small plane crashed on Cape Cod Saturday, killing one person and sending two to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

“It just sounded like a really loud bang. All I could see were some flames, smoke, and people all around,” said Karen Dawson, a local resident.

Investigators said the single-engine plane had taken off from New Haven, Conn. and attempted to land in Falmouth.

A total of three people were onboard. A source close to the investigation said a male in his twenties died, while two others in their fifties were airlifted to separate Boston hospitals.

Officials said it is amazing the plane didn’t crash on any homes.

“This is a nice area with the airpark, with homes around it and we’re fortunate it did not land on one of the houses and landed on some shrubbery between two homes,” said Mark Sullivan, Falmouth Fire Dept.

“We tried as much as we could to see if there was anybody we could pull out. It took a couple hours to stop shaking from everything. But it’s like anything else, any type of tragedy, you never expect it to happen so close to home,” said Bruce Gecks, who lives just feet from the accident.

Authorities have yet to identify the passengers. One source doesn’t believe they were locals.

Neighbors said the holiday weekend is a busy time of year at this small air-strip.

Dawson said she has never seen an accident like this.

“We've been here 12 years and that’s never happened,” she said.

An investigation is being conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration to determine the exact cause of the crash.

Stay with 7NEWS and WHDH.com for updates to this developing story. If you have information related to the story, please e-mail newstips@whdh.com.

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