4 Die in Plane Crash on Fort Stewart

Feb. 12, 2007
The Beechcraft Bonanza plane was en route to Anderson, S.C., from Titusville, Fla., when it went down Friday night.

A small civilian airplane crashed in a training area on Fort Stewart, killing four people on board, authorities said Saturday.

The Beechcraft Bonanza plane was en route to Anderson, S.C., from Titusville, Fla., when it went down Friday night, said Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

Air traffic controllers in Hilliard, Fla., alerted Fort Stewart when they lost radar and radio contact with the plane, Bergen said.

It was found about five hours later in a densely wooded some six miles west of Fort Stewart's garrison, where the base's headquarters, barracks and motorpools are located, said Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson.

Four bodies were found among the wreckage, he said.

The identities of victims were not released.

Bergen said the plane was following a flight plan approved by air traffic controllers and did not appear to be violating any airspace restrictions.

Fort Stewart has the largest land area of any Army post east of the Mississippi River, covering about 430 square miles.

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