Two people were killed Thursday when the plane in which they were flying crashed in Greene County.

The plane went down in the Shine community, about eight miles west of Snow Hill. Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration were to arrive at the site Thursday night to begin their investigation.

Cox News Service (ENLARGE)

Two people were killed Thursday in the crash of a small plane in Greene County.

Greene County Sheriff Lemmie Smith said the plane issued a distress call to the Federal Aviation Administration before it disappeared from radar at about 1:15 p.m. The call to 911 came moments later.

The aircraft, which was registered to an Estero, Fla., man, left Page Field in Fort, Myers, Fla., at 10:33 a.m. Thursday and was bound for Hartford-Brainard Airport in Hartford, Conn., according to a Web-based flight trackking service.

Officials did not identify the occupants.

Smith said deputies found what appeared to be the end piece of a wing about a mile from the crash site.

At least two men witnessed the crash, a pair of farm workers who were nearby when the plane went down.

"We heard a strange noise and an explosion, and I saw the tail end of the plane going to the ground," James Williams said.

Coworker Julio Herrera said he saw the crash.

"By the time I turned, I just saw the plane hit the ground," he said.

The men said they ran toward the plane, which caught fire after it crashed. Herreria said he tried to call 911 but couldn't get a signal with his cell phone, so he ran to get help.

Williams said that he saw a victim in the wreckage but was unable to tell much more.

"I just saw the brown, curly hair," he said. "...We couldn't get close to them because the fire was so big and so hot."

An unidentified caller did reach the 911 center at 1:15 p.m.

A number of neighbors heard a noise, but didn't know what happened until rescue trucks appeared on the scene.

"I heard an explosion; it rocked the house and I saw smoke," Douglas Moore said. The plane had crashed in the field behind his house.

Neighbor Nancy Scott said she thought a tractor had fallen over in the field.

The two people in the four-seat aircraft apparently died on impact, Smith said. He did not release their identities.

No one on the ground was injured and no property was damaged.

Ginger Livingston contributed this story. She can be contacted at glivingston@coxnc.com.