Four people have been killed when a small plane crashed soon after taking-off from Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi, US.

The crashed Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft was bound to Charlottesville, Virginia, reports US-based global aviation software and data services company FlightAware. Casualities include the pilot and three passengers.

Loaded with fuel before take-off, the craft was burned when it crashed and produced a trail of black smoke.

However, the crash of the single-engine private plane occurred in a wooded area near a sewage pumping station and Tupelo Buffalo Park & Zoo did not hurt anyone on the ground.

"There’s quite a bit of wreckage. The debris is very broken up."

Tupelo police chief Bart Aguirre was quoted by Associated Press as saying: "There’s quite a bit of wreckage. The debris is very broken up.

"We did find some bodies on the scene."

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokeswoman Arlene Salac stated that the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit of the jet before the crash.

FAA also noted that it would investigate and the US National Transportation Safety Board would identify the cause of the crash.

The concerned officials did not immediately release the names of the victims, while Florida-based coroner Carolyn Green said the corpses would be taken to the state crime lab in Pearl for performing autopsies.

Green also noted that DNA might be required to identify the bodies.

The fatal plane is reportedly registered to a person in Kerrville, Texas, who had flown from there to Tupelo.