(ABC News)

A small plane crashed into a Los Angeles neighborhood of Westwood this evening, leaving smoldering airplane wreckage in a corner yard and at least one person dead.

The dead victim was of unknown age and gender and found within the burned wreckage of the plane, the Los Angeles Fire Department said on its website.

The accident occurred on the northeast corner of Glendon and Mississippi avenues, about 1.8 miles from Santa Monica Airport, the LAFD said.

No structures were involved in the crash, ABC News station KABC reported, adding that the plane was departing Santa Monica Airport when it crashed.

The crash occurred around 6 p.m. after the pilot of a single-engine Cessna 210 declared an emergency, the Associated Press reported, citing a Federal Aviation Administration official.

An aerial view of the accident from a local news chopper showed the scene of the crash - a corner yard with a smoldering palm tree trunk surrounded by small pieces of a white airplane. Smoke rose from the tree, the wreckage and the yard. Fire crews were at the scene.

Another tree nearby had broken limbs and appeared to have been clipped by the airplane as it crashed.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the accident, the AP reported.