A pilot was killed when a single-engine plane crashed into a home a few blocks from an airport in coastal North Carolina on Sunday, and three people in the home escaped without injury, officials said.

Firefighters found the plane fully engulfed in flames, with the exterior of the home burning, too, Southport Fire Chief Charles Drew said in a social media post. The people in the home at the time got out on their own, and the fire was contained within 15 minutes, he said.

The plane had taken off from nearby Cape Fear Regional Jetport, Drew said. Only the pilot was aboard the Mooney M20R when it left the airport at 4:15 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. A preliminary FAA report shows that the pilot was killed.

YELLOWSTONE RIVER POSES NO THREAT TO THE PUBLIC AFTER TRAIN CARRYING CHEMICALS FALLS INTO MT WATERWAY

North Carolina Fox News graphic

A small plane struck a home in North Carolina. While the pilot died, the three people inside the home were able to escape unharmed.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

Airport Director Howie Franklin said staffers told him that the pilot radioed about five minutes into the flight saying he wanted to come back, the Wilmington Star-News reported.

"But he didn’t make it," Franklin said.