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Sheriff: 3 killed in Louisiana plane crash identified

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Posted at 3:34 PM, Feb 06, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-06 20:53:19-05

CHATHAM, La. (AP) - Three Louisiana men were killed in a small plane crash Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Jackson Parish Sheriff Andy Brown identified the men as Chris Mudd and Wade Williams both from Shreveport-Bossier, and airplane pilot Robert Gilliam of Minden, news outlets reported.

Brown said the plane was heading from Jackson, Mississippi, to Shreveport in northwest Louisiana when it crashed north of Chatham on Louisiana Highway 34.

The Monroe Regional Airport tower lost contact with the plane around 2:10 p.m. The plane was a four-passenger single-engine Cessna.

"It looks like it just fell out of the sky," Brown said. Details regarding the cause of the crash weren't immediately known.

State Sen. Jay Luneau told USA Today Network that Mudd was the chief executive of St. Amant's Rehabilitation Services company and Williams was an employee. Luneau said the plane was owned by his brother-in-law Matthew St. Amant of Shreveport-Bossier, who wasn't on board.

The plane grazed the top of a logging company owned by David Greer. Employees said they heard an engine getting close to the store and a loud crash. None of the store's employees were injured.

Brown said the Federal Aviation Administration will begin investigating Friday morning.