A single-engine seaplane skipped twice on the water of Long Island Sound while landing and crashed on top of a concrete pier in Queens, killing a passenger and sending the pilot and another passenger to the hospital with serious injuries, New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Sunday.

The plane broke in pieces after crashing on a pier at Riverside Drive and 158th Street around 3 p.m. Sunday, Nigro said at a news conference. Witnesses said the plane was traveling fast when it skipped on the water and hit the pier, Nigro said. “Why it happened, we have no idea,” he said.

Someone riding a personal watercraft saw the crash and removed two men from the wreckage, Nigro said. Firefighters removed the woman who died, he said. The personal watercraft rider and two other bystanders were treated for minor injuries at the scene but refused further medical attention, Nigro said.

The pilot is a local resident who flies often from a hangar on the water behind his home, Nigro said. Identities of the three people on the plane were not released pending notification of relatives.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane is a single-engine Cessna 182. It said the FAA will release aircraft registration information after investigators confirm it at the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating but will not travel to the crash site.