LOS ANGELES (AP) - The pilot of a small plane has died after crashing into a West Los Angeles neighborhood two miles northeast of the Santa Monica Airport.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the crash happened around 6 p.m. Friday after the pilot of the single-engine Cessna 210 declared an emergency.

Gregor didn't know the cause of the emergency. He said the pilot was approaching the airport for a landing when the crash occurred.

Los Angeles Fire spokesman Brian Humphrey said the crash lit a palm tree on fire. Television footage from a news helicopter showed the charred wreckage on a street corner and a broken wing on the ground.

The FAA and the NTSB will investigate the cause of the crash.

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