Five people were injured and the crash knocked out power to thousands.

The Grumman US-2B Tracker crashed a few hundred feet from a residential area and less than a mile from city hall.

"It could have been a lot worse," said Diane Miller, a spokeswoman for the city of Havelock.

The airplane, which went down about 2:20 p.m., smoldered in a wooded area near Creek Drive late Thursday.

Miller said the crash knocked out electricity to most areas of the city, which has about 22,000 residents. The wreckage burned atop major power lines that could not be repaired until federal officials inspected the crash site, Miller said. Details on the civilians aboard the plane, including names and condition were not available Thursday night.

Marine Cpl. James Hamel, a spokesman for the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, said four people on the plane were able to walk away and a fifth was taken to a New Bern hospital.

He said the aircraft was going to be part of a display of 30 or 40 aircraft parked on the ground for an air show this weekend. In the 1950s and 1960s, Trackers were used for anti-submarine operations.

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