A SMALL plane has crashed and left one person dead and another critically injured near Boston.

The Mooney M20 aircraft crashed on a street close to Beverly Regional Airport in Massachusetts at around 8.45am on Thursday.

Two men were inside the aircraft, according to Beverly Police Chief John LeLacheur and Beverly Fire Chief Peter O’Connor.

One man was pronounced dead on the scene while the other was airlifted to a hospital.

Their names have not been made public.

No one on the ground was injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said: “The preliminary information we have is the plane crashed under unknown circumstances.”

It added: “Once on site, the investigator will begin the process of documenting the scene and examining the aircraft.

“The aircraft will then be recovered to a secure facility for further evaluation.”

Witnesses told WBZ-TV that they saw a puff of smoke before the plane came tumbling down.

This could be a sign of an engine failure.

Police Chief Lelacheur told the TV channel: “It’s a holiday, there’s not a lot of businesses open right now.

“We’ll review the footage with the different businesses once they’re open, bring in some individuals for questioning, and then conduct further follow-up tomorrow.”

The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the plane, which took off from Beverly, was en route to Ticonderoga Municipal Airport, approximately 100 miles north of Albany, New York.

It was a fixed wing aircraft with four seats, according to the NTSB.