Plane in fatal New Jersey crash was bound for Cape Cod

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. - Authorities say a small plane that crashed in a rural part of southern New Jersey, killing two people, was bound for Hyannis, Massachusetts.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the Hawker Beechcraft 58 Baron aircraft went down Wednesday morning in Springfield Township.

The names of the two people killed were not immediately released. It's believed they were the only people aboard the plane.

The plane had taken off around 9 a.m. from South Jersey Regional Airport in Lumberton, about 10 miles southwest of the crash scene. Police in New Jersey confirmed the plane was headed for Hyannis.

The FAA is investigating the crash.

Garrett Andrew Rodriguez-Maribona, who was at the scene shortly after the crash occurred, told Boston 25 News that he and another man tried to see if there were any survivors but soon realized there were not.

"[I was] just cruising, listening to music that’s when I saw this huge wall of smoke come across the road really fast and i saw in the smoke was the shadow of an object," said Rodriguez-Maribona. "We heard it it sounded exactly like a plane that’s why we drove down this way."

Rodriguez-Maribona and another driver searched through the wreckage until they discovered one of the two bodies.

"I called out for him and I asked the guy, 'do you see any signs of life?' and he just basically did this and said his body was twisted," said Rodriguez-Maribona.

According to Flightaware, the Beechcraft Baron 58 took off from South Jersey Regional Airport at 9:04 a.m. destination Hyannis. It climbed to 1,300 feet and then dropped 800 feet in 18 seconds. When the plane hit the ground, it shattered into pieces.

"The best words to put it is 'unidentifiable,'" said New Jersey State Police Major Brian Blight.

Associated Press