Authorities said Saturday that at least two people have been killed after a small plane crashed near the Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi, as the responders rushed to the scene to douse the flames.
Among the deceased was a pilot and a local doctor in the plane which almost crashed into the Army Aviation Support Facility around 8:00am.
According to CBS News, Tupelo Fire Department Sergeant Michael Moody also confirmed the deaths.
The identities of the deceased people have not yet been made public and the authorities are conducting investigations into the causes of the crash.
An eyewitness to the crash told WCBI that he and his wife were driving on a nearby road when he saw the plane “banking in really hard” and “saw the plume of smoke.”
“I told my wife That plane crashed,” he said.
He pulled over to see if there was “anybody I could help,” but he noted that there was a “massive flame” in the debris field, causing him to realize there “wasn’t anything” he could do.
Emergency responders arrived, he said, including National Guardsmen and fire trucks were on the scene within three minutes.
The Tupelo Regional Airport is over 65 years old and is a hub of transportation for northern Mississippi.
Tupelo has a population of about 38,000 people and is about 190 miles from Jackson, the state’s capital city.
