BELLEVILLE, IL (KTVI - FOX2now.com).- Two people are feared dead after a small plane crashed into a home and exploded into flames just outside of Belleville Sunday night. The pilot and passenger were unaccounted for after the crash, which firefighters described as not survivable. No one on the ground was injured. It happened around 6:30 in the Aero Estates subdivision near Belleville, off Town Hall Road, near Belleville West High School.

"We're fortunate nobody on the ground was injued or killed," said Chief Greg Render of the Signal Hill Fire Department. His department was one of the eight that responded to the scene.

Sources close to the investigation said it was a single engine PA 46 that crashed. It had filed a flight plan with the FAA and its destination was Parks Airport in Cahokia. Sources say the plane had made two prior attempts to land at the airport.

Aero Estates is a subdivision where many pilots live. There is a private landing strip there, but Render said it was too early in the investigation to say if the pilot was trying to land there or if weather played a role in the crash. He said neighbors do not believe the plane belonged to anyone in the subdivision.

"It would be speculation at this time. We don't know why this plane went down or why it went down where it went down," said Render.

Neighbors described hearing a high-pitched sound, then feeling their homes shake as they heard a loud explosion and saw a ball of fire. The home where the plane crashed is a combination house and hangar, said Render. The homeowners, John and Mary Elliott, were not home. "They were fortunate. They had gone out to dinner," said Render.