Twin-engine plane crashes in Coweta County; two dead

<p>A twin-engine plane returning from south Georgia crashed and burned Thursday night into a heavily wooded area near U.S. 29 in Coweta County, killing both people aboard, authorities said.</p><p>The plane was on its way from Douglas to its base at Newnan-Coweta County Airport when it went down nearby in foggy weather about 8 p.m., Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager said.</p><p>Weather was possibly the big factor here, Yeager said. He said the pilots had radioed ahead moments earlier and gave no indication of engine trouble.</p><p>The victims were identified Friday as Bobby Wayne Morrow, 61, of Fairburn, and Carlos Ivan Taronji, 31, of Woodstock. They were both pilots employed by Southeastern Air Charter Inc. out of Fairburn, police said.</p><p>Firefighters extinguished a huge fire after about two hours, allowing investigators to get closer to the crash site.</p><p>Butch Wilson of the National Transportation Safety Board identified the aircraft as a King Air 200 turboprop belonging to Southeastern Air Charter. The plane can seat 10 people, but only the two pilots were aboard, Wilson said.</p><p>The NTSB investigator said the crash site is about a mile from the airport. The last communication the airport had with the aircraft was when the pilots said they were about 15 miles away.</p><p>A resident of the area, Matt Long, said he was out getting his mail when he saw the lights of the plane very low with the engines running. Long told Atlanta television station WAGA that there was a small explosion as the aircraft hit the treetops.</p><p>About two seconds later, there was a big explosion when it hit the ground, Long said.</p><p>Wilson described the crash site as a mess.</p><p>The aircraft burned and pieces scattered about 300 yards, he said.</p><p>A local Civil Air Patrol was meeting at the airport at time of accident, and they heard the call from the turboprop saying it was heading in, the sheriff said.</p><p>That was it. Then nothing, Yeager said.</p>