NORTHPORT, Ala. (WIAT) – Six people have died in a plane crash in Northport where authorities are on the scene, according to Lt. Teena Richardson of the Tuscaloosa PD.
Mississippi State Representative Jay Hughes has identified the victims as Lea and Jason Farese, Angie and Austin Poole and Kim and Michael Perry.
The crash happened around 11:20 a.m. on Sunday, when a Piper PA31 crashed into trees on approach to Runway 30 at the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport. The plane was heading from Kissimmee Gateway Airport in FL and was en route to its destination in Oxford MS when the plane reportedly began to suffer engine trouble.
The plane crashed into the Van de Graff Arboretum Park.
The Sheriff’s Department is waiting to give out more information until they have all of their information confirmed, with a release to be expected sometime soon.
“Whatever we do here we want to make sure we put out accurate information,” Abernathy said.
Hughes has stated that the victims were returning from a dental convention in Florida at the time of the attack.
The crash happens on the anniversary of another plane crash, that of UPS Airlines Flight 1354. Flight 1354 crashed on its approach to runway 18 at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport on August 14, 2013.