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Small-plane crash kills 6 in North Carolina

  • Story Highlights
  • Plane crashed into a neighborhood yard, no one on ground hurt
  • Aircraft was attempting to land in "overcast conditions," authorities said
  • Controllers cleared plane to land; official saw it was too high, then heard crash
  • Passengers were heading to Virginia for hunting excursion
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MOUNT AIRY, North Carolina (CNN) -- Six people were killed Friday when a small plane crashed into the front yard of a home while attempting to land in fog and low visibility in Mount Airy, North Carolina, authorities said.

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Plane wreckage is strewn across a yard in a Mount Airy, North Carolina, neighborhood, Friday.

The crash occurred about 11:30 a.m., according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The plane was coming from Polk County Airport in Cedartown, Georgia, and was attempting to land in overcast conditions, with visibility of about 2 ½ miles, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown.

After air traffic controllers cleared the plane to land, the airport manager saw it come out of the clouds, but it was too high, Brown said. The pilot attempted a "go-around" and disappeared into the clouds, but the airport manager then heard a crash. The crash site was in a subdivision east of the airport.

The NTSB said the flight was "a business flight," and the plane was a Beechcraft King Air twin-engine turboprop. The FAA shows the plane was registered to Blue Sky Airways Inc. of Dallas, Georgia.

"All of those who are in the plane are fatalities," said Surry County EMS Director John Shelton. He said local authorities were starting the investigation immediately. Video Watch Shelton discuss the crash »

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  • WXII12:  Six killed In Surry County plane crash

No one was injured on the ground, the NTSB said in a news release. The agency was sending a team of four to investigate the incident and said they were expected to arrive late Friday.

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Shelton told WXII12 News the plane was carrying passengers traveling to Patrick County, Virginia, for a hunting excursion.

A Rockmart, Georgia, newspaper identified the victims as Rockmart residents Hal Echols, owner of Blue Sky Airways; Wesley Rakestraw; and Steve Simpson. Three other victims were identified as Robert Butler, Tony Gunter and Frank Regero, whose addresses were unknown, the WXII12 News Web site said. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

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