Plane Inbound From Georgia

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 02.01.08 1635 EST: Photo from the scene confirm the aircraft lost in a crash near Mount Airy, NC Friday morning is N57WR, a Raytheon/Beech C90A King Air turboprop (similar to type shown below) registered to Dallas, GA-based Blue Sky Airways.

Officials with Surry County emergency services confirm there were no survivors onboard the aircraft. Six people were reportedly onboard, heading for a hunting trip in Virginia.

Witnesses told local media the King Air missed its first approach to Mount Airy Airport (MWK) and was circling back when the aircraft crashed for as-yet undetermined reasons. Authorities say weather may have been a factor.

The aircraft impacted in a residential area, but there were no injuries reported on the ground.

Original Report

1345 EST: A King-Air turboprop is reported down in the vicinity of Mount Airy Airport (MWK) in North Carolina, with the six persons onboard lost in the crash.

Early reports cited witness accounts, saying the plane took off from the airport shortly before the accident at 11:30 am. However, online flight tracking information from FlightAware.com shows a King Air C90A scheduled to land at the airport at the time.

That information correlates with reports from airport officials, who told area television station News-14 the King Air turboprop was inbound from Polk County, GA. Records cited by the television station show the plane is registered to Blue Sky Airways, of Dallas, GA.

The aircraft impacted a residential area east of the airport, off Highway 52, according to WXII-12. No one on the ground was injured.

"I heard a loud noise, and I went and got in my car," said witness Diane Murray, who lives near the scene of the crash. "I came down Janice Drive and there was a plane that had crashed there on the right side of the road in the yard -- and it's in thousands of pieces."

A current METAR for MWK -- about two hours after the crash -- shows 10 statute miles visibility and calm winds, under a broken ceiling at 300' and overcast at 1100'.

ANN stresses all information is preliminary at this point. We will update this story as more information becomes available.

FMI: www.flightaware.com, www.faa.gov