A husband and wife were killed after their small plane crashed near Covington Municipal Airport in Georgia.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a Rockwell Commander crashed near the Covington city airport shortly before midnight on Saturday, Feb. 15. The plane, which is a single-engine American aircraft, only has four seats, per Fox 5 Atlanta.
The Covington Police Department said in a press release that the aircraft, which had two people on board, took off just after 11:00 p.m.
“There was no further communication from the aircraft after takeoff. Officers located the aircraft in the woods just north of the runway. Two individuals were located with the aircraft and were pronounced deceased at the scene,” the press release said.
Stock image of a rockwell commander plane.
Alamy
The Newton County Coroner identified the deceased as James Hardee, 62, and Janet Hardee, 59, according to 11Alive, WSB-TV, and Fox 5 Atlanta.
The Putnam County Charter School System said in a statement on Facebook that Janet was a primary school teacher. She taught first grade at Putnam County Primary School, per its website.
“The Putnam County Charter School System community is mourning the loss of a primary school teacher, Mrs. Janet Hardee, and her husband due to a tragic accident that occurred over the holiday weekend. There are no words that can ease the sorrow and sadness we feel right now. Our thoughts and prayers are with their family,” the school district said.
The FAA said that the National Transportation Safety Board (NSTB) will oversee the investigation and provide any updates.
NTSB confirmed the incident remains under investigation in an update on X on Sunday, Feb. 16, writing, “NTSB is investigating the Feb. 15 crash of a Rockwell AC11 airplane near Covington, Georgia.” PEOPLE reached out to the NSTB for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The incident came days after one person was killed and several others were hospitalized after two planes collided on a runway at Arizona’s Scottsdale Airport on Monday, Feb. 10. One of the small planes was owned by Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil but he was not onboard at the time of the incident.
