A single-engine plane crashed late Saturday night in Bowie, Maryland, killing all three men on board, Maryland State Police reported. The aircraft went down around 11:30 p.m. in a wooded area near a playground behind a townhouse complex, narrowly avoiding a residential neighborhood.

The aircraft, a Piper Cherokee, is believed to be affiliated with a flight school based in Montgomery County. Authorities said the plane might have been on a training flight. The flight originated in Ocean City, New Jersey, and was headed to the Montgomery County Airpark at the time of the accident.

Authorities received an iPhone crash alert shortly after the incident, prompting a coordinated response from multiple agencies including Maryland State Police and the Prince George’s County Fire Department. Search efforts, both ground and aerial, continued into the early morning hours until the wreckage was located at approximately 3:45 a.m. Sunday.

Keith Miller, CEO of the Montgomery County Revenue Authority—which owns the airpark where the aircraft is based—confirmed the plane had departed from the airpark that afternoon and was returning when the crash occurred. Miller extended condolences to the victims’ families but declined to provide further details.

The identities of the three occupants have not been released. Police indicated all were male, and no injuries beyond the fatalities have been reported.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. An NTSB investigator was expected to arrive at the crash scene Sunday evening to begin documenting and examining the site. The investigation will include reviews of air traffic communications, radar data, weather conditions, maintenance records for the aircraft, and the pilot’s medical and flight history, according to NTSB spokesperson Keith Holloway.

This incident is part of a recent series of aviation accidents in the United States. Earlier this month, a Marine Corps fighter jet crashed in Washington state with the pilot ejecting safely; a skydiving plane in Missouri crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 12 aboard; a B-52 bomber went down at Edwards Air Force Base in California with eight fatalities; and a private jet crash on a Texas highway resulted in one death.

Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are involved in the ongoing investigation, with the NTSB leading the efforts. Authorities continue to seek information from witnesses as they piece together the events leading to the crash.