A family of five from Georgia was killed in a small plane crash in upstate New York after a baseball tournament in Cooperstown, police said.
The victims, identified as Harrison VanEpps, 10, James VanEpps, 12, Ryan VanEpps, 42, Laura VanEpps, 43, and Roger Beggs, 76, died in the crash that happened Sunday afternoon near Lake Cecil Road in the town of Masonville, according to New York State Police.
“The passengers were all families from Georgia who had traveled to Cooperstown, New York, for a baseball tournament,” police said.
“The plane departed from Alfred S. Nader Regional Airport in Oneonta, New York, and was headed to West Virginia to refuel, with its final destination being Cobb County International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia,” state police added.
Authorities say small plane carrying five people crashes in New York
A single-engine Piper PA-46 crashed Sunday afternoon near Sidney, New York. Authorities are seen responding to the scene of the crash. (With)
Cooperstown is home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Monday called the incident “tragic” and asked the public to join him and his family in “praying for the loved ones of the Beggs and Van Epps families,” WSB-TV reported.
“My deepest condolences go out to all who knew and loved them,” the governor reportedly added.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board, told Fox News Digital that the plane involved in the crash was a single-engine Piper PA-46.
All passengers on board the plane died, the FAA added.
Car crashes into nail salon in New York, killing multiple people
A Piper PA-46-310P aircraft, the same type as the one that crashed in New York on Sunday, June 30th. (aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
An NTSB spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the agency is seeking witness reports because they are “very helpful to the investigation.”
“A multi-agency search utilizing drones, ATVs and helicopters led to the discovery of wreckage and ultimately the crashed aircraft,” New York State Police said in a statement.
Click here to get the FOX News app
New York State Police added that its “Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Crash Reconstruction Unit and Forensic Identification Unit are working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Board to determine the cause of the crash.”
