BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Investigators have found the wreckage of a small plane that crashed Monday evening and the bodies of the two people who were on board.
Crews had been searching for the plane since the crash, focusing on a marshy area east of Brunswick, where the plane dropped off radar and was seen falling from the sky.
Shawn Etcher, air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said crews recovered the plane about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday and raised the plane above the water and onto a barge.
The plane was found in a creek about 12 feet deep. The area is a marshy, wetlands area in Wallys Leg, near Grants Creek. It's only accessible by air and boat, investigators said.
Etcher said the bodies of the victims were found in their seats in the plane and with their seat belts on. He said the bodies will be identified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Etcher said the plane was mostly in tact and sustained significant damage.
Divers found an object Tuesday by sonar and confirmed Wednesday afternoon it was the plane.
Several other pieces of the plane were found, including parts of a battery and interior and exterior parts of the plane.
The plane was heading from Concord, N.C., to Jacksonville.
NTSB investigators believe they know who was on the plane and believe the two people were from the ATP Flight School.
The school has not responded for comment.
The plane will be taken to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, then to a secure location in Atlanta, where authorities can continue their investigation.
The NTSB will release a preliminary report by next week about what happened, and the identify of those on the plane will be released by the GBI or coroner's office.