Six people are dead after a plane crashed at an airport near Fredericksburg, Virginia, state police say.
The small plane crashed into the woods near the end of the runway at Shannon Airport Friday afternoon. Shannon Airport is located about five miles from downtown Fredericksburg.
Virginia State Police said the plane was trying to land at the airport when it came to the end of the runway and pulled back up. The plane made it beyond the railroad tracks at the end of the airport property, banked left and struck the tree line.
The plane immediately caught fire when it crashed in the trees and was so badly burned that responders to the crash could hardly see the plane's tail number, making it hard to identify the aircraft.
"It appears the plane was attempting to land and it then attempted to abort the landing and take off again," said Virginia State Police Sgt. Les Tyler.
State police said all the remains recovered from the wreckage will be taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond for identification.
All six people are from out-of-state, police said, and authorities are still in the process of notifying their families.
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Shari Acree, who was riding an Amtrak train near the airport, said she saw white smoke and the crash.
"The plane was completely decimated and there was still some flame coming from it,'' Acree said in an email. She said her train was delayed about 30 minutes due to the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The airport has an average of 85 flights per day, mostly local general aviation. Ninety-one aircraft are based there, most of them are single-engine.
Stay with News4 for more on this developing story.
