Three people are injured, after a single-engine plane crashed the morning of Sept. 6 at Brookings Regional Airport, according to a press release from the Brookings Police Department.

Authorities responded to the crash after the department received a call at about 9 a.m. that the four-seater Beechcraft aircraft crashed at the property about an eighth of a mile from the runway and about 75 yards from the southwest gate off of 16th Avenue West.

"The investigation has determined that the plane was heading to Montana on a personal trip when it struggled to take off," the release states. "Just after take-off, at about an altitude of 200 feet, it may have experienced partial engine loss and the pilot turned the aircraft around in an attempt to return to the airport."

The department stated the aircraft may have then experienced "complete engine failure," and then nose-dived into the ground based on witness statements.

As the three people left the plane, it became engulfed in flames, the release states.

As the Brookings Fire Department responded, the three people were taken to Brookings Hospital initially for non-life threatening injuries.

Pilot Evan Koep, 32, of Brookings, has contusions, abrasions and burns. He was later flown to a Sioux Falls hospital for more treatment.

Hayden Kerkart, 29, was also later flown to a Sioux Falls hospital. Kerkart was the front-seat passenger of the plane, and has contusions, abrasions and burns, the release states.

Caden Walkes, 28, was riding in the rear of the plane. Walkes is being treated for minor contusions and abrasions at Brookings Hospital.

The public is asked to avoid the area as local officials wait for investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to arrive and investigate the scene, the release states.