GORDON COUNTY, Ga. — The crash site of a business jet that disappeared off radar on Saturday mroning has been found.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the Cessna Citation jet took off at about 10 a.m. Saturday morning from Falcon Field in Peachtree City and disappeared over Cherokee County.
The search for the jet, which moved into Gordon County after reports the jet was spotted over Mt. Olive Church in Fairmont, eventually uncovered the crash site where authorities now say the aircraft went down.
"A few hours ago, some citizens located the plane in a rugged a rugged terrain ... off of Mauldin Road, which is the eastern part of Gordon County," Sheriff Mitch Ralston said.
At this point, however, it's still difficult to reach the site and deputies securing it are having to travel on foot or by all-terrain vehicles, the sheriff said. He added that the plane is about 3.5 miles off the main road.
The FAA said that they didn't know where the jet was heading but did confirm that it took off from Atlanta Regional Airport - Falcon Field in Peachtree City.
Many additional details likely won't be available until federal agencies arrive, Sheriff Ralston said.
"I don't want to speculate on how many people was on the plane," he said. "I will tell you that it's no longer a rescue, it's a recovery."
The crash happened in Georgia during a rare snowfall that spread into much of metro Atlanta on Saturday morning. However, Sheriff Ralston said he wouldn't speculate on whether that may have been a contributing factor in the plane crash.
In addition to the FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash and has agents on the way from Washington.
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