The Embraer SA twin-engine Phenom 100 crashed into a home about 1.6km from the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, county fire department spokesman Pete Piringer told a news conference.
Three people aboard the plane were killed and a mother and two children died in the home, he said in a Tweet.
The crash sparked a fire that destroyed two homes, and three others were damaged. Piringer said crews had contained the fires but some jet fuel had leaked into a stream.
A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said the plane went down on its way back to the airport. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement that it was investigating the crash.
Witnesses told local media that the plane had been circling with the wheels down, and looked as if it was struggling for control.