One person died in a small-plane crash early Monday afternoon at a municipal airport northwest of the Twin Cities, authorities said, while a dog on board survived.

The crash with only the pilot and the dog aboard occurred about 12:45 p.m. just west of the Princeton Municipal Airport, said City Administrator Mark Karnowski. He said the privately owned plane went through a ditch and crashed about 100 to 150 feet west of the airport.

Mille Lacs County Sheriff Brent Lindgren said the pilot was from the Princeton area and was heading to North Dakota on a hunting trip. His dog, which was in a kennel, "appeared to be OK," Lindgren said.

Authorities have yet to identify the person who died or the specific type of plane that crashed.

The airport remained closed into midafternoon, with emergency vehicles parked on the runway.

The general aviation airport is set in the southwest corner of the city and just off Hwy. 169. Its lone runway is 3,900 feet long.

Stan Schmidt — Star Tribune, Star Tribune
Police waited near the scene were a small airplane crashed Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, in Princeton, Minn.

Karnowski said this is the city's first fatal crash at the airport since the current facility replaced the previous one in the 1980s.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will work to determine the cause of the crash. Karnowski said the weather was favorable for flying at the time, with partly cloudy conditions.

Staff photographer Jerry Holt contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482