The Latest: 1 couple identified in Alabama plane crash

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Latest on the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plane crash (all times local):

7:30 p.m.

Two of the six people who were killed in a small airplane crash near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, have been identified.

WLBT-TV (http://bit.ly/2brBnry ) reports that Memphis defence attorney Steve Farese says his nephew Dr. Jason Farese and his wife, Dr. Lea Farese, were aboard the plane that crashed Sunday morning. Both were dentists in Oxford, Mississippi.

Farese says the couple’s three children were not aboard the flight and were staying with friends.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon told a news conference that a pilot issued a distress signal around 11:10 a.m. Sunday, and the aircraft crashed while attempting to land. Authorities say all six people on board the aircraft were killed.

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4:40 p.m.

Authorities say six people are dead following the crash of a small airplane near Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon told a news conference that a pilot issued a distress signal around 11:10 a.m. Sunday, and the aircraft crashed while attempting to land. Authorities say all six people on board the aircraft were killed.

A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration says the Piper PA-31 went down in trees while approaching Tuscaloosa Regional Airport. The FAA says the flight departed from Kissimmee Gateway Airport in Florida and was bound for Tuscaloosa.

Tuscaloosa police said the airplane’s final destination was Oxford, Mississippi. They said they don’t know whether the attempted landing in Tuscaloosa was planned before engine trouble developed

The names of victims haven’t been released.