A small private jet skidded off the runway at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, crossed a highway and hit a car before crashing into a warehouse. According to a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration there were 12 passengers on board the plane.

The plane is believed to be a twin-engine Canadair, Challenger 60 which has a capacity to carry 12-15 passengers. It is usually used for small charter or business flights.

Local officials were conducting a 'rescue operation' according to State Trooper Stephen Jones. 'You act on that assumption until you know otherwise,' Jones said.

Route 46 has been closed in both directions near the accident.

The warehouse is owned by the Strawberry Clothing Company and was apparently filled with approximately 100 workers at the time of the crash. Both the front part of the airplane and a car it hit crashed through the brick wall of the outside of the building.

One eyewitness saw the pilot and the copilot exit the plane inside the warehouse just after the crash although that could not be confirmed.

For now, rescue operations and investigations into the cause of the crash continue.