Pilot dead after small, single-engine plane crashes on hillside above home in Beverly Crest

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The pilot of a small plane was found dead on a steep hillside above a home in a Beverly Crest neighborhood hours after the aircraft was reported missing, officials said.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the single-engine aircraft was found "upon a steep hillside that includes a large water tank (not damaged), above a home at 3045 Beverly Glen Circle." No other deaths or injuries were reported.

The search mission began at around 8 p.m. Saturday when Air Traffic Control asked the LAFD to search the area after they reportedly lost radar contact with a small, single-engine aircraft believed to be traveling between Santa Monica Airport and Van Nuys Airport, according to the LAFD.

Dense fog and steep terrain prolonged the search, reducing visibility to about 50 feet, witnesses said. Firefighters on foot were finally able to find the aircraft several hours later.

Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers at the Van Nuys, Burbank Airport and Los Angeles International airports, as well as the United States Air Force and the pilot's cellular telephone carrier all assisted in locating the airplane.

Residents near the crash site described what they believed to be the plane going down.

"It sounded kind of like when a large dump truck drops a big trash, but the house shook a little bit," said Jennifer Soleimani, who lives in the area.

The pilot's name has not been released and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.

City News Service contributed to this report.