3 killed when small plane crashes in western North Carolina mountains, officials say

MARION, NC — Three people were killed when a small plane crashed in western North Carolina, authorities said Monday.

McDowell County Emergency Management said in a statement that emergency personnel responding to a report of a missing small plane found the downed aircraft near the Rutherford County border. The area is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Asheville. McDowell County officials later confirmed that three people were killed in the crashed plane.

Three people were aboard the single-engine Cessna 182 when it crashed in the mountains near Rutherfordton, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation and will provide further updates, said the FAA, which is also investigating.

The NTSB said in a statement that preliminary information indicates the plane, which departed from Mountain City, Tennessee, and was en route to Rutherford County Airport, crashed Sunday and the wreckage was found Monday.

An NTSB investigator traveled to the scene to document and examine the wreckage, officials said. The agency is expected to issue a preliminary report on the first phase of the investigation within 30 days, though a final report with probable cause and any contributing factors is expected to take one to two years.