Two planes collided as they approached the runway of a suburban Atlanta airport Wednesday morning, leaving three people dead.
A flight instructor and her student were among those killed in the crash at West Georgia Regional Airport.
Carroll County Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Richards said the two planes were both coming in at final approach and "set down on top of the other."
"It appears one may not have seen the other one," Richards said.
The 10:54 a.m. accident was witnessed by other several other pilots in the area.
The female instructor and her male student were from a flight school in Newnan. The second plane contained a single male pilot.
Officials would not immediately provide more details about the victims. But a family pastor and friend identified the flight instructor as Taylor Stone, a Chattanooga native who lived in Newnan. Stone's Facebook page said she worked at Falcon Aviation Academy.
The Associated Press identified the second victim as William Lewis Lindsey, 79, of College Park.
One aircraft was a Diamond Aircraft DA20C1 and the other was a Beech F33A.
The airport has no air-traffic controllers, and no control tower. Pilots communicate on a shared frequency.
"It's basically non-controlled airspace you report your movements as you come through," Richards said.
Carroll County Fire Chief Scott Blue said there was no fire when the planes crashed. He said it will take some work to identify the bodies because of the extensive damage.
The NTSB is securing the crash site and wreckage with plans to return in the morning. They will determine the cause of the crash. The FAA is also investigating.
The third victim in the crash has not yet been released, pending family notification.
MORE: Planes crash in Carrollton, killing three
AJC reporters Lauren Foreman and Alexis Stevens contributed to this report.
About the Author
