There are multiple fatalities reported after a small plane crash in Oconee County. Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a single-engine airplane crash about 5 p.m. Tuesday. Oconee County authorities held a news briefing Tuesday evening in the wake of that crash near Elder Road. Investigators believe three people were killed. Oconee County first responders were on the scene within minutes of witnesses reporting the crash, however due to fire and several reported explosions, there were no survivors.
“We’re waiting on the NTSB and the FAA to come down and give guidance as to how to process the wreckage itself. The bodies of the deceased are being removed as this time, they’re being transported to the GBI Crime lab for autopsy and identification, then the NTSB will be in with the FAA in order recover the wreckage and try to do their investigation on the aircraft itself.”
All the fatalities are believed to have been passengers on the plane.
No word yet on if weather played a factor, or any cause of that crash. No residents had to be evacuated from their homes and all roads are now open in the area.
In a Facebook post, the sheriff's office said there were “secondary explosions” where the plane went down in some woods west of Watkinsville. Officials said air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane while it was over Oconee County. The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane took off from the Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina and was headed to the Tuscaloosa National Airport in Alabama.