Engine trouble, excess weight suspected in Japan plane crash: media

Engine trouble and excess weight are among the possible causes of a small plane crash in a Tokyo suburb that killed two passengers and a woman on the ground, reports said Tuesday.

The single-engine propeller aircraft with a 36-year-old pilot and four passengers on board crashed Sunday morning shortly after leaving Chofu airport on the outskirts of the Japanese capital.

Five others were injured and police are investigating the accident -- which set homes and cars ablaze -- on suspicion of professional negligence.

Nozomi Suzuki, 34, who had recently moved into a house destroyed by the plane, was reportedly trying to save her 10 dogs when she was consumed by the fire.

The charred remains of the plane's fuselage ended upside-down in Suzuki's burnt-out residence.

Japanese media, quoting police, said an abnormal sound was coming from the aircraft before it crashed, leading authorities to suspect engine trouble or some other kind of malfunction.

Video footage which police obtained from witnesses showed the aircraft flying at an unusually low altitude after takeoff, Kyodo news agency said.

Police declined to confirm the news reports.

The plane was bound for Izuoshima island some 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of central Tokyo.

The Tokyo Shimbun newspaper said the plane may have been carrying as much as 280 kilograms (615 pounds) of fuel -- five times more than it needs for a one-way trip to the island.

That raised questions about whether the flight was actually being used for tourism -- which is banned at the small airport -- rather than for training purposes.

The pilot had about 1,500 hours of flight experience, Kyodo said.