The two-seat plane was traveling Sunday from the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual convention in Oshkosh, said Bernadette Galvez, spokeswoman for the Madison Fire Department.
The pilot, Shannon Knoepflein, was flying home to Lebanon, Ky., according to the Dane County Coroner's Office.
The pilot of the Lancair aircraft reported having engine problems about 10 miles southeast of Madison and tried to land at the airport but crashed about one mile east of the airport about 6:50 p.m., said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro said.
The fire department put out a fire at the site when it arrived, Galvez said.
Debris was spread along two city blocks, she said, with the majority on a strip of land between a street and a car dealership parking lot. No cars were damaged and no one on the ground was hurt.
The FAA planned to investigate the crash, and the debris was taken to a military hanger, Galvez said.
Cyrus Maltman, a paramedic for the Sun Prairie emergency medical service, was preparing to enter the nearby Eastgate Cinema when he saw the plane traveling northwest at an altitude of about 100 feet with its engine off.
``There was no engine noise,'' he said.
Maltman said he saw the plane come over a row of trees. Then, the plane banked and tried to land. It clipped a streetlight pole and crashed.
Maltman said he saw a brief flash and when the plane struck the roadway there was an enormous orange fireball followed quickly by a black cloud of smoke.
