The Cessna 182 Skylane crashed at the CSX rail yard at
Ward and South Church streets
, just south of downtown, at about 4 p.m., Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.
Bergen said the aircraft,
registered to Performance Aviation of Wilson
, was traveling from Beaufort and was headed toward the Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport when it went down about five miles from the airport on the main north-south CSX route.
Airport officials said the plane made two unsuccessful landing attempts and that the airport lost contact with the plane after the second try.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, and authorities were still at the scene early Sunday evening investigating. It was unclear if rain was a factor.
The identities of the victims -- a man and a woman -- were not immediately released while authorities tried to notify next of kin.
Train traffic was being detoured around the crash site Sunday evening, causing some delays.
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