JASPER - Three people were killed Thursday night when a small plane crashed in northern Cherokee County, authorities said. <br>
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The plane went down at about 7:30 p.m. in a heavily wooded hunting preserve just south of the Cherokee-Pickens county line, said Allen Wigington, spokesman for the Pickens County Sheriff's Department. <br>
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The plane had taken off from the Pickens County airport to the north. <br>
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All three occupants were confirmed dead. Authorities did not identify them. <br>
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The crash left debris along two acres of the wooded area. <br>
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Authorities are unsure where the plane was headed. It was registered in Pickens County. <br>
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Barry Chastain, 48, a resident of the Fairview community, an unincorporated area on the Pickens-Cherokee line, said he was sitting outside his home when he saw a plane flying low. <br>
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``It was right above the trees and I could hear the engine cutting out,'' Chastain said. <br>
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The plane ducked out of sight, and Chastain said he heard an explosion.
