Billionaire, his wife and son, and several friends killed as private plane crashes into building in Milan

A private plane piloted by a property tycoon crashed into an office building, killing him, his wife and son, and several family friends.

A private plane carrying a billionaire property tycoon, his wife and son, and several family friends has crashed into an office building in Italy shortly after takeoff, killing everyone on board.

Dan Petrescu was behind the controls of the single engine aircraft when it plummeted to the ground just 11 minutes after takeoff from an airport in Milan.

Petrescu, his wife Regina, 65, their son Dan Stefan, 30, three friends and two crew members were on board, heading to the island of Sardinia.

All eight died in the crash. Among the victims was a young boy, authorities said.

“I saw the plane lose control,” a witness who gave her name as Andrea told the news website tgcom 24.

“I saw it just as it crashed. I saw it dive.

“The plane was low. And then there was a lot of smoke, flames in the sky. Pieces were flying. I was very scared.”

Another witness told authorities he saw flames coming from the engine as the plane lost altitude.

Dan Petrescu. Picture by: DAPRESS/SplashNews.com/Media Mode

A small private plane crashed into a building in San Donato Milanese district, killing all eight people on board and sparking a massive blaze. Picture: AAP

Smoke billows into the air after a plane crash in Milan. Picture: AAP

Fire crews race to the scene in the neighbourhood of San Donato Milanese but the occupants of the plane couldn’t be saved.

Miraculously, the building was empty at the time of the crash as it’s undergoing renovations, and several nearby cars that were crushed by debris or incinerated in the explosion was also unoccupied.

A subway station was also damaged but again, no-one was injured.

The Pilatus PC-12 single engine plane took off from the main runway at Linate airport at 1.04pm local time.

It performed a right hand turn that would have taken it on its route to Olbia in Sardinia but instead of heading south it went towards San Donato. It crashed 11 minutes later.

“The plane hit the building on the facade with an extremely violent impact,” Carlo Cardinali from Milan Fire Brigade said.

“The pilot made a turn, so he noticed some anomaly.”

Part of the single engine aircraft, which crashed just 11 minutes after takeoff from Linate Airport in Milan. Picture: AAP

According to reports, Mr Petrescu and the group were travelling to Sardinia to see his 98-year-old mother at the family villa.

The dual Romanian and German citizen was a property tycoon worth an estimated 3 billion euros (AU$3.7 billion) with business interests including real estate development and two supermarket chains.

The newspaper Corriere della Serra, quoting Romanian sources, said Mr Petrescu’s worked in Canada and had just arrived in Italy to attend the baptism of a friend’s child.

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze sparked when a private plane crashed in San Donato Milanese district in Milan, Italy. Picture: A AP

Forensic officers examine the impact point of the plane crash in Milan. Picture: Getty Images

An investigation has commenced to determine what went wrong.

Local media say the plane flew from Bucharest in Romania to Milan on September 30 without any reported issue.

The reports said the aircraft had flown from Bucharest, Romania, to Milan on September 30 with no apparent problem.

This article originally appeared inThe Sun and is reproduced here with permission