Plane Disappears From Radar After Cleared To Descend

A Beechcraft Bonanza 36 crashed in a training area on Fort Stewart, GA, killing four people Friday night, according to the Associated Press.

The plane (file photo of type, above) was en route to Anderson, SC, from Titusville, FL, when it went down, said FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

NTSB officials say the Bonanza was flying at 13,000 feet when the pilot requested a lower altitude. The pilot was cleared for 11,000 feet and as the plane began its descent, disappeared from radar.

"Air traffic control lost contact with the flight at about 6:15 pm," Bergan said. "The wreckage wasn't found until almost midnight."

It took emergency responders more than five hours to find the wreckage in a heavily wooded area on the vast Army post, said Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson.

Larson added the plane went down in a densely-wooded training area about six miles west of the post's garrison where Fort Stewart's headquarters, barracks and motorpools are located.

Four bodies were found among the wreckage, he said. Their identities were not released.

Bergen said the plane was following a flight plan approved by ATC and did not appear to be violating any airspace restrictions.

Fort Stewart has the largest land area of any Army post east of the Mississippi River, covering about 430 square miles. Most of the area is heavily wooded and used for training.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.stewart.army.mil