No Survivors In Small Plane Crash At Covington Cereal Plant: Reports

COVINGTON, GA — Multiple media outlets report no survivors among the occupants of a small plane that crashed in a parking lot at the General Mills plant in Covington.

Police said a Cessna twin-engine plane crashed at 7:05 p.m. Thursday at the facility, just off of Interstate 20 on Industrial Park Boulevard.

Witnesses said the plane took off from the Covington Municipal Airport at 6:45 p.m. but struggled to gain altitude, WSB reported. The aircraft crashed into four empty tractor-trailers about 300 yards from the cereal plant.

Capt. Ken Malcom of the Covington police said authorities confirmed that everyone on board the plane died.

According to 11Alive, police said two people died in the crash.

"According to witnesses, they believe the plane was having trouble gaining altitude. They could hear that there was engine trouble," Malcom told reporters from witness statements. "Suddenly the plane veered to the right and immediately came straight down and crashed into the lot behind us."

The plane exploded as it careened into the tractor-trailers, the AJC reported.

"Obviously, this is a devastating crash," Malcom told 11Alive. "There are no survivors."

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, an FAA spokesperson confirmed.