The New Jersey State Police have confirmed that two people were killed when a small plane crashed into a wooded area of Sussex County Thursday afternoon.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the single-engine Cessna 172 had taken off from Essex County Airport in Caldwell on Thursday afternoon and was heading to the Sussex County Airport.

Local authorities contacted the FAA about a missing aircraft shortly before 3 p.m. The plane was found around 4 p.m. and had crashed in a wooded area near Lake Kemah in Hampton Township.

That wooded area is just beyond residential homes. There were no reports of any injuries to people on the ground or damage to homes. 

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

The names of the victims were not immediately released.