THOMSON, Ga. — Federal authorities say a small plane aborted its landing at a Georgia airport before it hit a utility pole and crashed, killing five people onboard and leaving two hurt.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators were at the scene Thursday. NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt says the plane hit a 60-foot utility pole before crashing.
The plane then burst into flames. Sumwalt says it is not immediately known why the plane aborted its landing. He says one of the plane's wings was cut off when it hit the pole, causing the plane to leak fuel that then ignited.
He says the plane broke into pieces and is almost completely burned out.
Thomson-McDuffie County Sheriff Logan Marshall said the jet crashed after 8 p.m. Wednesday. He said the two survivors were taken to area hospitals but did not have information on their conditions. He said the identities of those killed were being withheld pending notification of family members.
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The Hawker Beechcraft 390/Premier I departed from Nashville, Tenn., when it crashed just after landing at the Thomson-McDuffie County Airport, about 30 miles west of Augusta, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said in an email.
Seven people were aboard, she told The Associated Press in the email.
The Augusta Chronicle cited Assistant County Fire Chief Stephen Sewell as saying there were at least two survivors identified as a pilot and a passenger.
The plane was on a flight from John Tune Airport in Nashville, Tenn., to the Thomson-McDuffie airport, Bergen said in her email, adding the aircraft is registered to a company based in Wilmington, Del.
