The pilot of a small plane was killed Thursday after the aircraft caught fire and crashed into a neighborhood as it tried to return to an executive airport.

las vegas plane crash
©Isaac Brekken / AP
Officials investigate the scene of a plane crash west of the North Las Vegas airport Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008, in North Las Vegas, Nev.
Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said authorities believe no one on the ground was injured when the twin-engine Piper Navajo plowed through power lines and crashed into a driveway, igniting a three-alarm fire that heavily damaged one home.

The plane crashed into a car parked in the driveway before coming to rest against a block wall in the home's rear yard, Szymanski said.

"It appears, right now, at this time, we only have one fatality, the pilot that was on the aircraft," Szymanski said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the pilot departed from North Las Vegas Airport and was believed to be headed to Palo Alto, Calif.

The pilot radioed the control tower about a "rough-running engine" and was attempting to return to the airport when he crashed at 2:35 p.m., roughly a half-mile short of the runway.

"The pilot was the only person on board the aircraft," Gregor said.

The pilot's name was not released.

The eight-passenger plane was built in 1981 and was registered to Aeronet Supply of Gardena, Calif., The Associated Press learned. A call to the company's headquarters was not immediately returned.

Fire officials said several witnesses called in to report an aircraft was spewing smoke and flames as it approached the airport. The plane exploded on impact.

Within about an hour, the fire consumed much of a single-family home and scorched an adjacent home. More than eight fire engines responded to the crash.

The crash knocked out power to some 900 residents, according to Nevada Power Co. spokesman Chelsie Campbell, who said crews restored electrical service to most homes in the area within an hour.

This is the second similar plane crash in the Las Vegas-area in a week. An experimental plane killed three people Friday when it crashed into a home near North Las Vegas airport.

Officials have not determined the cause of that crash.

Clark County Aviation Director Randy Walker quickly issued a statement calling the back-to-back crashes "a serious concern."

Walker said the plane had arrived at the airport safely earlier in the week and had since undergone mechanical work.

FAA investigators were on scene, Gregor said. He said the crash would be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA.

North Las Vegas Airport is the second-busiest airport in Nevada after McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, according to the airport's Web site. It's a busy hub for small planes and jets, and serves as a base for sightseeing flights to the Grand Canyon and other attractions.

It was the 63rd busiest airport in the country in 2007 when it handled 216,000 flights, according to FAA records.