Five people aboard a single-engine plane died when the aircraft crashed near an interstate highway in Nashville, Tennessee, authorities said.

What You Need To Know

  • Five people have died after a small plane crashed near an interstate highway in Nashville

  • The Metro Nashville Police Department says the single-engine plane crashed Monday night just off of Interstate 40 in the western part of the city

  • The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating

The pilot made an emergency call to John C. Tune Airport around 7:40 p.m. Monday, reported engine trouble and was given clearance to make an emergency landing, Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said. A short time later the pilot radioed that the aircraft would not reach the airport, he said.

The plane burst into flames when it crashed in a grassy median just off Interstate 40 and behind a Costco on the city's westside. The crash scene was about 3 miles south of the general aviation airport.

"It appears that everyone on board perished," Aaron said.

In a statement early Tuesday on the social media platform X, police said five people died. It said the Federal Aviation Administration was at the scene and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to arrive Tuesday.

Authorities also were working to determine from where the plane originated.

There were no injuries to drivers on the interstate, Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Kendra Loney said. Authorities said no vehicles or buildings on the ground were damaged.