A small plane crashed and burst into flames minutes after takeoff from Tampa Executive Airport on Thursday morning, killing both people on board in a fireball that lit up a wooded lot along U.S. Highway 301 in unincorporated Hillsborough County.

The aircraft, a four-seat Lancair Evolution kit plane, took off around 8:14 a.m. bound for Elizabeth City Regional Airport in North Carolina. It went down roughly half a mile from the runway, just north of the airport, minutes into the flight. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue said it received multiple 911 calls at 8:17 a.m. and had crews on scene by 8:24 a.m., but the plane was already fully engulfed by the time they arrived. Firefighters had the blaze out in under 10 minutes, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.

Two lives lost

Both people aboard were killed: the pilot, identified by local outlets as 59-year-old David Siambanes (also reported as Saimbanes), and passenger Dawn Stone, 53. Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer addressed reporters at the scene. "This is a tragic day for the families of the two individuals that were involved in this plane crash," he said.

"THIS IS A TRAGIC DAY FOR THE FAMILIES" — Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer

The plane was registered to a limited liability company, according to WWSB ABC 7's reporting on the aircraft's flight path and registration. Investigators noted the wreckage, though badly burned, wasn't deeply embedded in the surrounding woods, which let crews reach it quickly despite the intensity of the fire.

The National Transportation Safety Board has taken over the investigation with assistance from the FAA, and two NTSB investigators were dispatched to the crash site Thursday. A preliminary report on the cause is expected Friday, though full findings in aviation crash investigations typically take much longer to finalize, according to wire reporting carried by Cox Media Group stations.

What's next: investigators are expected to release a preliminary NTSB report Friday outlining initial findings, while a full determination of the crash's cause will likely take months. No witness accounts have been made public beyond the official statement from Hillsborough County authorities.