Los Angeles ? A small business jet crashed while taking off from Van Nuys Airport on Friday, killing two people, officials said. A witness said the door of a nose compartment was open as it took off.

The plane had been carrying only its two crew members when it went down about 11 a.m., said Joe Miller, a dispatcher with Sun Quest Executive Air Charter, which operated the plane.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Howard Plagens said the names of the victims would be released once they were identified by the coroner’s office.