A businessman, his wife and son have died after a private plan they were in crashed into a home half a mile away from an airport.

The three people were inside the aircraft when it collided with the house in Lyon Township, Detroit, on Saturday afternoon.

David S Compo, who owned the plane and was an experienced and licensed pilot, died in the crash alongside his wife Michele and their college-age son Dawson, reports local media.

The incident happened half a mile north of the New Hudson airport, the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan, which Mr Compo was former president, said.

It's understood Mr Compo had flown to Canton in Georgia on December 29, and the family were returning home when the crash took place.

The incident happened at around 4pm local time (8pm GMT) along Dakota Drive, according to witnesses.

The residents of the home were able to get out of the burning house, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office confirmed.

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Mr Compo ended his term as president of the Home Builders Association on New Year's Eve, just days before.

The current CEO, Michael Stoskopf said in a statement: “We were fortunate to have David leading our team for 2020.

"His involvement, professionalism and experience over the years have been great assets to our organization, and he has been a true friend to me as we faced challenge after challenge during this past year.”

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The two-storey house appeared to suffer extensive damage to both floors, along the back of the house and the side.

Chase Southwick, who lives nearby, said he saw the plane before the crash, and thought the aircraft was flying low.

“You could tell it was really, really low because it was buzzing low down,” he said.

“There was a huge cloud of white smoke, I thought what happened?” he added.

The plane, owned by Aircom LLC, is registred to Compo Builders, Inc and Mr Compo, and was manufactured in 1964, reports Detroit News.

A family of five were inside the house and able to make it out safely, however their cat did not survive, writes ClickonDetroit.

The mother said she and her family were in one room and moved to another shortly before the incident.

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