A small plane crashed into a suburban Cincinnati house Tuesday afternoon, killing the pilot and sending dark smoke billowing from the backyard.

Emergency responders said no one was in the home at the time of the crash, and first responders got two dogs inside out safely in the city of Madeira, some 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Cincinnati.

Authorities weren’t certain if anyone besides the pilot was in the heavily damaged twin-engine Piper PA-31 Navajo and didn’t immediately release any information about the pilot’s identity.

Madeira’s fire chief, Steve Ashbrock, said the plane crashed into a family room at the back of the home, and then went nose-first into the back yard. Firefighters put out flames from the plane.

The aircraft is registered to Marc Inc., the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The company, which is based at John Bell Williams Airport in Bolton, Mississippi, referred all questions to its attorney, Thomas Bryson, who was not available for comment.

The crash was around 3:15 p.m., before many residents returned home from work and school to find the swarms of fire, police and TV vehicles in their neighborhood.

“It made a terrible noise,” Judith Lampe, who lives nearby, told The Cincinnati Enquirer. She said firefighters were spraying water on the smoking wreckage. “The back of the house is pretty much open to the elements.”

Neighbor David Moore said he was at his son’s house waiting to pick up his grandchildren from the school bus when he saw the plane coming in low over trees, then nose-dive into the yard.

The Federal Aviation Administration said federal investigators were responding and that the National Transportation Safety Board will be in charge of probing what happened. Multiple state and local agencies also responded.