Officials said Monday that two people were killed when a US Marine F-18 jet crashed into a neighborhood in Southern California city of San Diego just before noon.

This video frame grab image taken from KGTV television shows the scene where an F18 military jet crashed in a San Diego neighborhood, Monday December, 8, 2008, sparking at least one house fire. [Agencies]

Meanwhile, a grandmother and two children who lived in the house hit by the crashing plane were reported missing, according to a website report by the Los Angeles Times.

The pilot of the F-18 Hornet ejected safely from the two-seat jet before being taken to a clinic at the nearby Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, said US Marine Corps spokesman Stephen Paap.

The spokesman said the F/A-18D, which was carrying a single pilot at the time of the crash, was on a training mission en route from the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, operating in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego.

Local police and fire officials said one home was destroyed and another damaged in the crash, which occurred just before noon.

Television footage shows smoke coming from homes in the University City section of San Diego about three kilometers from the US Marine base.

Eyewitnesses at the University City High School close to the crash site said they heard a loud boom just before noon and then saw a plane go down. The school had been put on lockdown and no one was allowed to leave.

There were massive traffic jams in the area after the plane crash, making it difficult for firefighters and police to reach the neighborhood, witnesses said.

Firefighters look near the remains of a military jet that crashed into homes in the University City neighborhood of San Diego, California December 8, 2008. [Agencies]

Fire rages in a neighborhood in the University City area in San Diego, California. A military F18 jet crashed into a residential neighborhood in California on Monday but there were no immediate reports of injuries, aviation and military officials said. [Agencies]

Editor: Yan