COVINGTON, Ga. — Two people were killed when a small plane has crashed near a General Mills plant about 35 miles east of Atlanta, officials confirmed.
“Obviously this was a devastating crash and there are no survivors,” Covington police Capt. Ken Malcom said Thursday night, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Crews had recovered one body as of late Thursday night, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
“We are working on a lead to determine who the victims were in the crash,” Malcom said, adding it was a relief the incident did not hit the cereal manufacturer’s plant close by. “The fact that it didn’t crash into the plant, saved many lives.”
According to witnesses, the plane had departed from Covington Municipal Airport around 6:45 p.m., police said, according to the outlet.
“Suddenly the plane veered to the right, and immediately came straight down and crashed into the lot behind us,” Malcom said. The crash sent a plume of black smoke overhead, authorities and local news reports said.
There were no immediate reports of any injuries to anyone on the ground.
Covington police told local reporters the aircraft crashed in an isolated parking lot near an industrial plant just off Interstate 20, a major east-west artery in Georgia.
Police said the aircraft was a Cessna twin engine plane, WSB-TV reported. According to witnesses, the plane had departed from Covington Municipal Airport around 6:45 p.m., police said, according to the outlet.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crash happened near an industrial building around 7 p.m.
“We don’t have additional information at this time,” said the FAA statement. It said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The FAA added that more details would be released later after investigators verify the plane’s registration number at the scene.
USA TODAY has reached out to Covington Police Department and General Mills for further comment.
Contributing: Nicole Fallert
