Officials say three people are dead in a small plane crash in a parking lot at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the single-engine plane crashed on takeoff around 6:15 p.m. PDT Sunday.

Airport spokesman Brian Kulpin tells the Reno Gazette that the three were aboard the aircraft. No one on the ground was hurt.

TV station KRNV reports that several cars in the parking lot suffered damage from crash debris and the lot was closed to allow clean-up.

Kulpin says it's still unclear what caused the Piper Cherokee to crash.

The paper says an investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to arrive Monday.

Airport operations weren't affected.