A plane carrying five people crashed into a retirement home car park before bursting into flames in Pennsylvania on Sunday.

The accident happened around 3pm just south of Lancaster airport in Manheim Township, said Duane Fisher, police chief.

Nobody on the ground was hurt and those on board were taken to hospital. 

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed there were five people aboard the Beechcraft Bonanza. Its planned flight and destination have not yet been released.

The conditions of the five were not immediately known and authorities didn’t elaborate on how they survived the crash.

Brian Pipkin was driving nearby when he noticed the small plane climbing before it suddenly veered to the left.

“And then it went down nose first,” he told The Associated Press. “There was an immediate fireball.”

After calling the emergency services, Mr Pipkin drove to the crash site where he recorded video of black smoke billowing from the wreckage and multiple cars in flames in a car park at Brethren Village.