2 killed in plane crash at Barrow County airport

BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — Deputies identified to men who were killed in a small plane crash in Barrow County.

The crash happened Thursday afternoon on the south end of the Barrow County airport.

The Barrow County sheriff said a driver saw the debris from the plane in the trees and called 911.

"There are some trees that are clipped and you can see where it went along the runway, but in all actuality, it's a fairly compact scene, which is surprising with plane crashes," Capt. Scott Dakin said.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said a Beech C23 aircraft crashed off the end of a runway.

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Deputies identified the victims Friday as Shannon Ewing, of Dacula, and his nephew, Henry Ewing, of Jones County.

Officials said it is not clear yet if the plane was taking off or landing when the crash occurred.

"Probably somebody was taking off and had a little problem and it looked like they were trying to turn around and put it in that field over there," neighbor Roger Wehunt said.

Firefighters said there were no witnesses. They said they believe the crash happened between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

There is no manned control tower at the airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board was at the scene of the crash investigating Friday.

"The aircraft is fragmented, which means it's not in one piece after it impacted trees, the tail section separated along with the main cabin and engine, they're all in close proximity and those will be some of the things we'll be examining so far," Air Safety investigator Todd Gunther with the NTSB said.

Cox Media Group