A Kennesaw businessman was killed Tuesday when his plane crashed into the woods between two lots in a residential area near the city's arboretum. No one else was injured.

Max Gysin, 66, who operated a small motel chain, was returning from Vero Beach, Fla., after making a stop to check on one of his motels in Albany, his wife, Jean, said.

Andy Sharp / asharp@ajc.com

Firefighters at the crash site off Pine Mountain Road near Due West Road.

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The plane "did a nosedive," said Denell Boyd, public information officer for Cobb County Fire & Emergency Services. "There's not much left of the plane. It was fortunate it landed where it landed."

The aircraft, a single-engine turbo-prop was on final approach to land at McCollum Field, within a half-mile of the crash site, said county spokesman Robert Quigley.

"We had contact between the tower and the aircraft — no reports of trouble," said Quigley.

Ralph Lindgren, 72, was outside with his dog and spotted the plane before it crashed, off Pine Mountain Road near Due West Road.

He figured the engine had exploded.

"Ever hear a bomb?" Lindgren said. "It was like one of the big fireworks on the Fourth of July, but about 10 times that loud."

Lindgren said the plane "dropped straight down."

His granddaughter, Paige, 12, called 911.

"I just said, 'A plane crashed behind my house,' " she said. "I heard a big boom and went outside, and it was in flames."

Paige's aunt, Lisa White, lives in the cul de sac near the crash site.

"He was heading right for my house," she said. "I would bet my life that man could see all the homes. He did the heroic thing."

Said neighbor Tony Brutus, 18: "We felt the ground shake. Next thing you know, there are police cars."

Scott Luther of the Kennesaw Police Department said the first call came in at 3:01 p.m.

Jean Gysin said her husband had gone to Vero Beach over the weekend to pick up the aircraft after it underwent a 400-hour inspection.

"I can't picture him making a mistake. He was a very good pilot," she said.

Gysin's daughter was waiting to pick him up at McCollum when word of the crash came, Jean Gysin said.

Gysin had been flying about eight years, his wife said. He had owned the turbo-prop, which was his third aircraft, for about six months.

Luther said it had been several years since there has been a fatal crash in Kennesaw. A pilot survived a crash last year. Luther said the investigation would be turned over to the FAA and the NTSB.

Staff researcher Nisa Asokan contributed to this report.