Sheriff: 4 killed when small plane crashes in yard in western Arkansas

POTTSVILLE, Ark. – A single-engine airplane crashed into a rural residential area in Arkansas on Thursday, killing all four people aboard, authorities said.

Pope County Sheriff Shane Jones said the four people were aboard the plane when it crashed in a resident’s yard near the town of Pottsville, about 70 miles northwest of Little Rock. No one on the ground was injured. Jones said all four victims are adults and authorities are awaiting positive identification before any names are released.

“There’s families here that have been devastated this morning and we need to keep them in our prayers,” Jones said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said preliminary information shows the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza crashed shortly after takeoff from the Russellville Regional Airport at about 8 a.m. Thursday. The plane, which was destroyed by fire after the crash, was headed to Knoxville, Tennessee, Lunsford said.

FAA investigators were en route to the crash site, and the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation, Lunsford said. The FAA will release will release the tail number of the plane once investigators are able to confirm it, he said.

The sheriff said it was foggy at the time of the crash but federal investigators will determine the cause.