Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ? A World War II-era cargo plane crashed and burned Monday in the middle of a residential street, authorities said. All three men aboard survived, and there were no reports of injuries on the ground.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the DC-3 went down shortly after takeoff at 3:48 p.m. near Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. The plane was bound for Marsh Harbor, Bahamas, she said.

Those on board were identified as pilot Charles Riggs, co-pilot Charles Wirt and passenger Hector Espinoza. All three were in fair condition at Holy Cross Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Maria Soldani said.

“They are sitting up talking their cell phones,” she said.

The aircraft crashed between several homes and buildings, in the middle of a tree-lined street about three miles east of the airport.

Neighborhood children watch a DC-9 cargo plane burn outside the front yard as they peek through a fence in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The plane crashed and burned Monday in the middle of a street in a residential neighborhood, authorities said. All three men aboard the plane survived, and there were no reports of injuries on the ground.

“As much as possible it landed on a roadway,” said David Rafter, the spokesman for Oakland Park Fire Rescue. “I don’t know if it caused incidental damage to structure (on the ground).”

The plane is “a version of the DC-3 that was modified for Navy use. There are only six in the current registry,” FAA spokesman Greg Martin said, adding that these were made between 1945 and 1946. The first DC-3s were made in the early 1930s.

Several witnesses saw the crash in the densely populated area.

Mark Davis was just arriving home when the plane crashed about a block away. He said he saw the plane’s wings clipping the tops of trees as it roared overhead. It then hit the ground out of sight, making the sound of “hollow metal crushing together.”

Resident Jay Huber said he was in his backyard when he heard a “terrible engine noise. … This plane was just pancaking, nose up, engines going like hell, like it was trying to stay up, and it was only about 150 feet in air.”