South Hackensack, N.J. ? A small plane crashed into a post office building near Teterboro Airport late Friday, killing the pilot and injuring a passenger, authorities said.

The single-engine Cessna struck the South Hackensack Post Office building as the plane was trying to land, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which operates the airport.

The plane ended up crumpled nose-first against a brick wall near a loading dock. There was no immediate word on the extent of the passenger’s injuries.

The Cessna was diverted to Teterboro after the pilot reported an engine problem, FAA spokeswoman Arlene Murray said. She said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

The crash site is about a half-mile from Teterboro Airport, one of the nation’s busiest small airports. It handles a steady stream of corporate and small package delivery aircraft and had more than 200,000 arrivals and departures in 2004. The airport is about 12 miles west of New York.

There have been three previous accidents there this year, two in which planes skidded off runways and a third in which a plane crashed while trying to land.