EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The police chief in East Hartford, Connecticut, has asked the FBI to assist the investigation into a fatal plane crash because it happened so close to Pratt & Whitney corporate headquarters.

Chief Scott Sansom called the jet engine maker "critical infrastructure."

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are also involved in the investigation.

Authorities say a student pilot and an instructor were trying to land the Piper PA-34 Seneca at Brainard Airport in Hartford when it struck a utility pole and crashed onto the road around 4 p.m. Tuesday, bursting into flames.

Police say the pilot was hospitalized with serious burns and the passenger was in the wreckage and presumed dead. Police haven't released names.

Two people in a minivan were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.