Two 27-year-olds were killed Wednesday afternoon in a small plane crash in northwestern Georgia, authorities said.
The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office said the owner of the 1974 Grumman American Aviation Corporation AA-5 single-engine aircraft called them at around 1:43 p.m. Wednesday when the plane did not return as supposed.
The owner provided authorities with the aircraft’s last known location near Crawford Road, in western Paulding County.
Authorities searched the area and located the wrecked plane that had crashed nose-down in the woods.
Two occupants were found deceased inside the plane: Flight instructor Sungwook Lee of Daytona Beach, Florida, and student Johnathan Lara from Powder Springs, Georgia.
The National Transportation Safety Board estimated that the crash occurred at around 2:17 p.m.
The plane left the Paulding County Airport at 10:24 a.m. and was last spotted on the flight tracker near the crash scene at 11:21 a.m.
“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate,” the Federal Aviation Administration said.
“The NTSB will lead the investigation and will provide any updates.”
