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Rescuers work at the scene of a plane crash Monday night on Bishop Road near Cuyahoga County Airport in Willoughby Hills

(Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio -- A small plane crashed Monday night while taking off from Cuyahoga County Airport, killing all four passengers and stunning people living in homes nearby.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

People living near the airport on Bishop Road just north of White Road said they heard the plane crash and rushed toward it in an attempt to help, but the fire became too intense.

The plane came to rest just off the east side of Bishop Road near Curtiss Wright Parkway and struck a utility pole, officials said.

Willoughby Hills Assistant Fire Chief Tom Talcott and the Ohio Highway Patrol confirmed there were four passengers on board. None survived.

Talcott said it was a small plane, but he did not know what kind. The damage to the aircraft was extensive.

The plane went down at about 10:02 p.m., Talcott said. Residents who lived near the crash said it sounded like the plane might be in distress, with one man saying it sounded like car engine backfiring.

Mark Gerald, 45, of 3006 Bishop Road, was sitting on his front porch when the plane crashed. He said he could hear the plane struggling but did not see it until hit the ground.

Gerald said he and other neighbors ran toward the plane hoping they could pull the occupants out, but it exploded as they approached.

"It's just a shame," Gerald said. "We thought we had (a chance to help them). It was too hot. ... The whole fuselage was involved."

Ruzanna Tovmasyan, 23, lives next door to Gerald. She was inside her home when she heard the crash. She said heard an unusual sound before the crash, like a car with a flat tire.

She also ran to help but was held off by the flames.

"We couldn't do anything but scream," Tovmasyan said. "I was yelling 'Jesus' down the street."

William Honaker, 18, of Richmond Heights, said he had just turned onto Bishop Road when he saw a "ball of light." He said he realized it was a fireball.

Honaker said he also tried to approach the plane but said onlookers warned him to stay away because of the intense fire.

"(The plane) was so mangled," Honaker said. "I didn't want to look at it anymore to be honest."

In April 2009, a single-engine plane bound for Buffalo crashed just east of SOM Center Road in Mayfield Village after taking off from Cuyahoga County Airport. Two people were killed.