Plane crash: Three people dead after small plane heading to Kentucky crashes in Tennessee with plane appearing to 'break up in air'

Three people have been killed after a small plane crashed in Williamson County yesterday (Wednesday 15 May), local officials confirmed. Williamson County Chief Deputy Mark Elrod told reporters that the plane had left Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and was headed to Louisville, Kentucky.

The small plane crashed in Tennessee near Leiper's Fork, about 30 miles (48.28 kilometres) south of Nashville, around noon local time. Elrod said that it appeared that the plane “did break up in the air”, adding that the debris field is more than a mile long but no structures have been reported damaged.

Jill Burgin, spokesperson for the Williamson County Emergency Management Agency, said they received a 911 call at about 12.05pm. Burgin told reporters during Wednesday's news conference: “He just said a possible plane crash, but he didn’t have a lot of details. He just heard a sound and saw debris so that’s all the information he gave.”

The Federal Aviation Association has identified the plane as a single-engine Beechcraft V35. The names of the victims have not been released. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.