A small plane crashed after it was forced to make an emergency landing near Interstate 40 in Tennessee last night, leaving five people dead.

The single-engine plane crashed near I-40 East at mile marker 203 in Nashville, about three miles from John C. Tune Airport.

Police spokesperson Don Aaron said the control tower at John C. Tune Airport received a message at about 7:40 p.m. from an aircraft reporting that it was experiencing engine and power failure and needed emergency approval to land.

The airport approved the aircraft to land on a runway, but the pilot radioed that it was not going to make it. It crashed about three miles south of the general aviation airport.

The aircraft ultimately crashed, bursting into flames, behind the Costco store just off the eastbound lanes of I-40, and the crash was called into dispatch at 7:44 p.m.

Aaron said no vehicles or buildings were hit when the plane crashed and that everyone who died was on the plane.

When fire crews arrived at the scene, they saw heavy flames and smoke. Firefighters extinguished the flames and preserved the evidence from the scene so the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) could investigate the crash.

The interstate was shut down at the scene last night. Lanes are expected to open this morning. Drivers should still expect slow traffic and delays in the area.

The investigation is being led by the NTSB.