Witnesses to Georgia plane crash sought

CALHOUN, Ga. — Federal investigators trying to determine what caused a small plane to crash in a remote area of northern Georgia have not found any witnesses, a spokesman with the National Transportation Safety Board said.

Three board investigators arrived at the scene Sunday and plan to move the wreckage to a secure location, board spokesman Terry Williams said.

They will look at the pilot’s record and training, the aircraft’s maintenance and weather conditions at the time of the crash, he said. The wreckage was found Saturday, hours after the plane vanished from radar shortly after takeoff from the Atlanta area.

Snow was reported in the Atlanta area around the time the plane took off.

No witnesses have come forward, Williams said.

The Gordon County sheriff’s office said there were no survivors, but it’s still not clear how many people were on board. Gordon County Chief Deputy Robert Paris said the coroner’s office was at the scene Sunday, and that authorities would release that information later.

“The terrain is treacherous,” he said. “It’s extremely hazardous even getting to the crash site.”

The Cessna Citation aircraft disappeared from radar around 10:10 a.m. Saturday about 50 miles north of Atlanta after departing from Atlanta Regional Airport-Falcon Field in Peachtree City, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It was en route to John Tune Airport in Nashville, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said Sunday.