Official: 3 dead in small plane crash in northeast Georgia

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — A single-engine plane bound for Florida crashed after takeoff Friday evening from an airport in northeast Georgia, killing the three people aboard, authorities said.

The Cessna 182 crashed around 6:50 p.m. approximately two miles (3.2 kilometers) northeast of the Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport in Gainesville, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Emma Duncan said.

“The aircraft crashed shortly after departing from Gainesville on a planned flight to Daytona Beach,” Duncan said in an emailed statement.

Hall County Fire Services spokesman Zach Brackett said three people on board, all adults, were killed, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. They were not immediately identified.

“Three adult occupants were found deceased and it was confirmed with the FAA that this matches the occupants reported to them for this flight,” Brackett said, according to the newspaper.

The paper reported the plane came down in a ravine and that Brackett said fuel from the plane landed on a home, displacing five people from the dwelling. No injuries were reported on the ground.

Duncan’s statement said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.