LOS ANGELES (AFP) - One person was killed when a private jet crashed and burst into flames on Sunday while landing at the airport that serves the exclusive Colorado skiing resort of Aspen, officials said.

Pitkin County Sheriff's Office confirmed one person was killed and two were injured, one seriously, after the plane carrying them smashed into the runway at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport.

"Three on board: one fatality, one serious and one minor injuries," Pitkin County Undersheriff Ron Ryan told AFP in an email.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the plane was believed to be a Bombardier Challenger 600.

The aircraft, traveling from Tucson in Arizona to Aspen, crashed while attempting to land, Kenitzer confirmed to AFP in an email.

Photographs of the crash site on the website of Denver NBC television affiliate KUSA TV showed the blackened overturned fuselage of the plane on a snow-blanketed runway.

Aspen is a popular winter holiday destination beloved of celebrities. The comedian Kevin Nealon and the singer LeAnn Rimes both posted Tweets after witnessing the crash.

"Horrible plane crash here at Aspen airport. Exploded into flames as it was landing. I think it was a private jet," wrote Nealon, best known for his recurring role in the television black comedy Weeds.

"Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles still at scene. No word on survivors or who was on jet but I can't imagine there are survivors," Nealon wrote on Twitter.

Rimes added: "So sad. Horrible plane crash we just saw happen at the Aspen airport."