All five passengers on board a small aircraft have died after the plane's right wing tip struck the ground causing it to flip and burst into flames as it tried to land.
It is believed two couples and a young girl died although identities of the victims haven’t yet been released.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna Citation aircraft left Venice Municipal Airport in Florida for the airport in Macon County, about 75 miles east of the Tennessee state line.
Macon County Airport manager Neil Hoppe said the county medical examiner indicated five people died in Thursday’s crash which happened about 1.45pm.
Hoppe said the plane’s right wing tip struck the ground after it veered to the right, causing the plane to flip and burst into flames.
Investigators for the FAA were at the site of the crash Thursday. The exact cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known.
Statistics tell us that when it comes to aviation accidents, more people are injured than killed. Comparing airplane injuries to fatalities, National Transportation and Safety Board data show that in 2010:
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221 persons were killed