KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysian authorities launched a search and rescue operation on Tuesday following a plane crash in Selangor state.

The aircraft, which crashed around 1:30 pm local time, had two on board including its pilot, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said in a statement.

The privately operated aircraft had been on a recreational flight, it said.

"Last contact made by the aircraft with air traffic control was at 1:35 pm, however, there was no distress call received," it said.

The Kuala Lumpur Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Center at Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Center was immediately activated to determine the location of the aircraft.

Jinaidi Nasiran, an eyewitness, said that he saw the light aircraft flying in an unusual pattern before it crashed, according to the Malaysian national news agency Bernama.

Jinaidi said he was changing the tyre of his car in his parking lot, facing the location where the aircraft nose-dived into the ground.

"Something is off with the way the aircraft was flying. Suddenly it nose-dived into the ground...I rushed to the crash site and saw that the plane was already in pieces and slightly buried in the ground," he said.

"I tried to look for victims, but none was spotted," the eyewitness said.