Victims of fatal North Carolina plane crash identified as instructor, student

CHATHAM COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — The two victims of a plane crash in North Carolina have been identified.

The FAA reports that a single-engine Piper PA-28, with two people on board, crashed near the Siler City Municipal Airport.

State troopers say the crash happened Friday around 1:28 p.m. A flight instructor, McMillan Abernethy of Beech Mountain, and a student, Justin Strauss of Raleigh, were on board the plane.

Investigators say the two men were traveling from Raleigh Executive Airport in Sanford to Siler City Municipal Airport in Chatham County and the plane crashed in a wooded area near the Siler Airport City.

State troopers secured the scene and other emergency responders attempted to locate the plane's occupants.

Abernethy and Strauss died as a result of the accident.

The NTSB is investigating the accident.

There is no further information available at this time.