( CNN ) -- Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to arrive Thursday morning to investigate a small plane crash that killed one person in Birmingham , Alabama . The Beech BE-58 was approaching the runway of the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport when it crashed Wednesday , said the Federal Aviation Administration . The cause of the crash is unknown . `` All I know is my friend right here told me to look up , and it was a plane in the sky , fire coming out of the back of it , '' Kairee King told CNN affiliate WBMA . King was on his porch when the plane crashed in a neighborhood , about 50 feet from the nearest house , the affiliate reported .
The plane crashes as it is approaching an airport runway . The cause of the crash is not known , the FAA says .