Three killed in US as small plane crashes into backyard

Three people were killed Thursday when a small aircraft crashed into the backyard of a home in a residential neighbourhood near Philadelphia, US police said.

The single-engine propeller plane came down shortly after 6:00 am in Upper Moreland, Pennsylvania, around 20 miles from Philadelphia, according to local police.

They said in a statement that they received a call from a resident "reporting a plane crash in their backyard." "The police department was able to determine that the plane had three passengers, all of whom were deceased," the Upper Moreland force said.

The victims were a husband and wife, aged 60 and 54 respectively, and their 19-year-old daughter, the statement added.

No one on the ground was injured, Upper Moreland Police Chief Michael Murphy told reporters, adding that the plane had not issued a distress call.

"There are pieces of debris spread out over four backyards," he told a news conference.