All five people on board a small plane were killed Sunday when it crashed in rural western Virginia.
The twin-engine IAI Astra 1125 crashed near Ingalls Field Airport in Hot Springs around 3 p.m., according to Virginia State Police.
Four adults and one child were on board, local NBC affiliate WSLS reported. The child was likely between 5 and 7 years old, according to police. Two of the adults were the plane’s pilot and copilot. None of the victims was identified further.
Authorities said the jet was traveling from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., when an emergency occurred, according to local CBS affiliate WDBJ. It had not been scheduled to land in Hot Springs, which lies in the Appalachian Mountains about 130 miles west of Richmond and just around 10 miles from the West Virginia border.
The plane attempted to land at the small airport but came up short of the runway, hit several trees, crashed into a hillside and burst into flames, WDBJ reported. Local crews put out the blaze.
“Small crash site, everything is burnt, meaning the tail numbers are unidentifiable,” Virginia State Police spokesman Rick Garletts said.
The emergency that prompted the attempted landing remains under investigation. Authorities also have not revealed the plane’s intended destination.
Virginia State Police, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are all investigating the crash.
Ingalls Field Airport is a small single-runway airport that is not traditionally served by any major carriers. However, it is a commercial airport and can handle larger aircraft. Hot Springs, the nearest town, has a population of around 500 people.
With News Wire Services
