The plane, a Beechcraft Bonanza, was reported missing late Monday, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.
Three of the plane's occupants are from Gilmer County, and the pilot is from Ohio, Gilmer County Fire Chief Tony Pritchett said. The pilot was in north Georgia for a class reunion, and all four people on the plane are friends.
The Civil Air Patrol was searching for the aircraft, said Maj. Paige Joyner of the Georgia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.
``It's very dense forest up here and we're looking for signs of people,'' Joyner said.
She says the plane departed the Ellijay airport for a sightseeing trip within a 50-mile radius of the airport.
The Civil Air Patrol used four planes and helicopters to search the region on Tuesday, authorities said. Volunteers also used all-terrain vehicles to search wooded areas.
The area includes the rugged Cohutta Wilderness Area, a heavily wooded and mountainous area in far north Georgia.
Bergen says relatives of some of those on board called the airport when the plane didn't return as expected.
Bergen says the flight had no contact with air traffic controllers.
The plane is a Beech 35, similar to this one. (Photo courtesy beechcraft.com)
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