A cargo charter plane crashed shortly after takeoff early in the morning at Spirit of St. Louis Airport, killing the pilot, authorities said.

Exclusive security video obtained by FOX 2 News shows the aircraft bursting into flames upon impact. In the video, it appears the plane loses altitude almost immediately after takeoff. It is seen trying to loop back around to the approach end of the runway before it crashes.

St. Louis County police said the pilot, identified as Edward Ruhbeck, 65, of Spanish Lake, was the only person on board.

“It is the pilot. At this point we do not believe anyone else is on board,” St. Louis County Police Department spokeswoman Vera Clay said.

The Aero Commander 500B aircraft owned by Kansas City-based charter company Central Air Southwest, took off around 12:20 a.m., according to flight tracking data. The plane appeared to turn around almost immediately and attempted to return to the runway but crashed about 1,500 feet short.

Authorities said the wreckage was not discovered until about three hours later. The airport’s control tower was closed at the time of the crash. Police say they got reports of a missing plane around 3 a.m.

“We have a police detail out here that patrols the airport. They were notified of a possible missing plane, so those officers started a search,” Clay said.

Even with no one at the airports tower, air traffic in the area is still monitored by Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON. Aviation experts told FOX 2 that because the crash happened so close to the airport, it is possible Ruhbeck never activated a flight plan after takeoff. That would have notified TRACON of the plane’s departure.

Investigators from St. Louis County and the city of Chesterfield worked the scene on Tuesday morning.

“Our crime scene investigators have been out here along with Chesterfield’s crime scene investigators, so right now it’s going to be piece by piece trying to figure out what happened,” Panus said.

According to National Transportation Safety Board records, this marks the fourth fatal crash involving Central Air Southwest aircraft since 2005, all involving Aero Commander 500B aircraft. The other crashes happened in 2014 in Chicago, Ill., 2008 in Tulsa, Ok., and 2005 in Gaylord, Mi.

FOX 2 e-mailed and called the company but a woman who answered the phone said no one was available to talk about the crash.

The NTSB is expected to lead the investigation. Officials said it could take weeks before preliminary findings are released.