4 dead after small plane crashes at airport

Four people were killed when a single-engine plane crashed at an airport in Georgia, officials said.

The pilot and three of the four passengers in the Cessna 182A died when the plane, owned by The Jumping Place Skydiving Center in Statesboro, crashed at the Emanuel County Municipal, about 70 miles south of Augusta, according to Randy Love, the deputy coroner for Emanuel County.

The surviving passenger was airlifted to a trauma center, Love said. All of the passengers were wearing parachutes that had not been deployed, he said.

The Jumping Place Skydiving Center posted a statement on its Facebook page lamenting the crash.

“Today we have suffered an enormous loss,” the statement says. “ … We've lost loved ones. Please be respectful of loved ones … We've all lost parts of our family.”

The Federal Aviation Authority said the plane crashed around 2p.m Saturday, just after takeoff. The agency said it will investigate the crash and the National Transportation Safety Board will determine the “probable cause of the accident.”