WICHITA: Four people died, including the pilot and five injured when a small plane crashed into a building in the Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita on Thursday, triggering an explosion and huge fireball, authorities said. 

Authorities said they had represented four people who had been reported missing after the plane that authorities made ​​only the pilot hit a building where pilots train in the airport grounds. 

"I heard a loud, loud noise, but it was drowned. I saw the smoke and flames. I ran," said Lana Johnson, 65, who was in a post office near the airport when the plane crashed. 

The pilot of twin turboprop Beechcraft King Air 200 reported loss of engine power shortly after takeoff from the airport and crashed while attempting to return, said the Federal Aviation Administration. 

"The pilot reported that he was damaging the engine," National Safety Board investigator Transportation Leah Yeager told an afternoon news conference. 

Four people were killed and five people injured, said Fire Marshal Brad Crisp Wichita news conference. Authorities have not released the identities of the victims. 

One of the wounded was in serious condition and the other four were treated and released from St. Francis Via Christi Hospital spokeswoman Maria Loving said. 

Three of the dead were in a flight simulator and one was on the roof, airport officials said. Their bodies had not yet recovered due to concerns about the safety of the building. 

Fire Chief Ron Blackwell said the plane appeared to hit the top of the building, sparking an intense fire. Parts of the plane were found on the roof and on the ground, he said. 

Firefighters worked for several minutes to get the fire under control, Blackwell said. 

Heavy, dark smoke rose from the building, which is between two sets of runways and includes a learning center Cessna flight simulators. It suffered severe damage, including collapsed walls and roofs, airport officials said. 

Authorities said more than 100 people are believed to have been in the building, which was operated by FlightSafety International, a company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 

Crews had recorded three of four flight simulators in the building, but could not enter the room because of concerns about the potential for structural collapse, Crisp said. 

Ron Ryan, former owner of an airline, said he knew the pilot two decades and used it in the past as a contract pilot. Ryan said he also owned a King similar to that in the accident Thursday Air. 

"In his day, my Learjet flew copilot and captain in my King Air," Ryan said in an interview, adding that the pilot was a former air traffic controller. 

Commercial flights from Mid-Continent were largely on schedule, said the airport. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation, the FAA said.