Five people, including a child, killed as plane crashes into forest in Virginia

Crash killed pilot and three other adults along with a child

Emergency crew work at the site of a business jet crash in Hot Springs, Bath County, Virginia (via REUTERS)

Five people, including a child, have died after the plane they were travelling in crashed into a wooded area near Virginia’s western border on Sunday and burst into flames, according to authorities.

Virginia State Police said the twin-engine IAI Astra 1125 went down near Ingalls Field Airport in Hot Springs at around 3pm on Sunday, killing the pilot and three other adults along with a child.

“At this time, it appears there were four adults and one juvenile onboard the aircraft. All five, which includes the pilot, died at the scene,” said Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller.

Police added that the plane involved in the crash was a “small, private jet.”

The plane reportedly caught fire on impact. “Small crash site, everything is burnt, meaning the tail numbers are unidentifiable,” police spokesman Sgt Rick Garletts told the Associated Press, adding that the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident to try to identify the flight details and the occupants.

Police told WDBJ that the flight originated in Fort Lauderdale and was not scheduled to land at Ingalls Field, adding that it was trying to make an emergency landing when it ran short of the runway, hit several trees and crashed into a nearby hillside, causing a brush fire.

The fire was quickly extinguished, police added.

Ingalls Field Airport was closed in the aftermath of the crash.

Hot Springs sits near Virginia’s border with West Virginia and is approximately 160 miles northwest of Richmond.