LAFAYETTE, La. — Five people are dead, including a Louisiana sports reporter, after a small plane bound for Atlanta crashed in the city of Lafayette.
Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit told KLFY-TV that five people were found dead at the scene. Thirty-year-old WDSU sports reporter Carley McCord was among the dead according to her husband, Steve Ensminger Jr.
Ensminger's father is the offensive coordinator for the LSU football team, which is playing against Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Saturday.
In the moments prior to the Peach Bowl, Ensminger was seen on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Since learning of the deadly crash, organizers for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl have since released a statement saying:
“We are saddened to hear the news of today’s tragedy. We extend our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families affected.”
Latest on crash
Chief Benoit said the aircraft that crashed early Saturday was an eight-passenger plane.
Late Saturday afternoon, officials released the names of those who died aboard the flight in addition to McCord: the plane's pilot, Ian E. Biggs, 51; Robert Vaughn Crisp II, 59; Gretchen D. Vincent, 51; and Michael Walker Vincent, 15.
Meanwhile, 37-year-old Stephen Wade Berzas remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to NBC station KLAF. Officials told the station that three other individuals were reported injured who were not passengers on the plane. Their status is not being confirmed at the time, nor are their names being released.
Lafayette Fire Department spokesman Alton Trahan said the plane caught fire after it crashed and that the flames engulfed a car nearby.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane was a twin-engine Piper Cheyenne that crashed one mile west of Lafayette Regional Airport after departing from runway 22L. The aircraft came down in the parking lot of a nearby post office.
According to WVLA-TV, the aircraft had departed the airport at 9:20 a.m. local time and had filed a flight plan taking it to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport just northeast of Atlanta.
The passengers on the plane were headed to Saturday afternoon's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl football game between LSU and Oklahoma, according to WVLA.
Acadian Ambulance said on Twitter that it responded to the scene of a “crash of a small civilian airplane” in Lafayette and took four people to hospitals, including one who was on the plane.
The Lafayette Police Department said via Twitter that local firefighters were handling the scene while awaiting federal transportation authorities and asked motorists to avoid the area.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
