Five killed en route to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport for Peach Bowl

LSU assistant coach’s daughter-in-law among dead in plane crash.

A small plane carrying passengers bound for the Peach Bowl crashed Saturday in Lafayette, Louisiana, killing five on board.

The daughter-in-law of Louisiana State University offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger was among the victims. Louisiana sports reporter Carley McCord’s death was confirmed by her husband, Steven Ensminger Jr., according to The Associated Press.

The elder Ensminger, who coached for the Georgia Bulldogs in the early 1990s, coached in Saturday’s game as the No. 1-ranked Tigers and No. 4 Oklahoma played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Ian Biggs was flying the plane, which took off from Lafayette Regional Airport at 9:20 a.m. The aircraft was headed to DeKalbPeachtree Airport, according to Flightaware.com. Besides McCord, 30, and Biggs, 51, the other victims were Robert Vaughn Crisp II, 59; Gretchen D. Vincent, 51; and Michael Walker Vincent, 15. An injured plane passenger, who was in critical condition Saturday evening, was identified as Stephen Wade Berzas, 37, according to the Lafayette Fire Department.

Biggs’ brother-in-law told CBS News that Biggs was transporting passengers for the Peach Bowl.

The plane crashed in a wooded area behind a Walmart Supercenter, according to the radio station KPEL. The two-engine Piper Cheyenne crashed about a mile from the regional airport where the flight began, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro told the AP.

The plane reportedly skidded through a parking lot and a field. It was engulfed in flames, KPEL said. Three people on the ground were injured by the crash and transported to local hospitals, according to KLFY-TV.

Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit told KLFY-TV the aircraft was an eight-passenger plane. The report said the Walmart was evacuated as a precaution. Acadian Ambulance said via Twitter it responded to the scene of a “crash of a small civilian airplane” in Lafayette and transported two patients to a local hospital.

Eyewitnesses told KLFY that lights went out at homes and businesses near the crash and that they heard something that sounded like “a semi-truck.” Several residents said they were without power in the wake of the crash.

Photos of the crash area showed a blackened car as well as tree limbs scattered in the parking lot of a post office. The smoldering remains of the plane were in a field near the post office.

SCOTT CLAUSE / THE LAFAYETTE ADVERTISER The burnt wreckage from the small plane crash is seen in Lafayette, La., Saturday. In addition to the fatalities, several people reportedly were injured and hospitalized.