4 people, 2 dogs killed when plane crashed in Nash County

Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone initially said that only two people were aboard the plane. Further investigation that stretched into Saturday showed four people – all from Naples, Fla. – were on board.

They are:

They were traveling from Naples to Easton/Newman Field in Maryland, according to a report from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the plane was a Piper PA-46.

Someone called 911 around 2 p.m. saying part of a plane had landed in their yard, Stone said. Two wings were found near Harrison Road. The last radar sighting of the plane came around N.C. Highway 43 and Harrison Road.

While rain slowed the investigation Friday evening, Charles Tolan and his friends found the fuselage about a mile away in the woods using four-wheelers.

“It’s right in the middle of thick woods,” Tolan said. “Knocked two trees down, laying on a tree.”

Brenda Hawkins was sitting on her porch when she heard the crash.

“It sounded like a propeller or something, real loud,” she said. “I was looking around for it, but I couldn’t see anything — it was raining. All of a sudden I heard a big boom, like it hit ground.”

Multiple agencies were involved in the search for the plane, including the sheriff's office, Emergency Medical Services, the State Highway Patrol, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the North Carolina Forest Service.

The National Transportation Safety Board will oversee the investigation to determine the probable cause of the crash.