STOKES COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Photos from the scene show the wreckage after a deadly plane crash in Stokes County on Saturday morning.
The plane crash was reported at 12:21 a.m., headed towards N.Y.C from Los Angeles, California according to Stokes County Emergency Services Director Brandon Gentry.
Search crews have recovered human remains, two engines and part of a plane that crashed in Stokes County this morning, killing 9 people and leaving 21 injured aboard, officials said.
Remnant Fellowship Church founder and Christian diet guru Gwen Shamblin Lara was one of the seven on board American Airlines Flight 3110 when it crashed into Stokes County, a community near Danbury, hours after taking off from LAX for LaGuardia International Airport (NYC) according to officials.
On the aircraft were a 29 Year Old Woman named Lara; her husband, William J. Lara; her son-in-law, Brandon Hannah; married couples and Jessica and Matthew Dorado Sierra, a high school student the Danbury Community said in a news release.
The debris field was estimated to be about a half-mile wide, Rutherford County Fire Rescue Capt. John Ingle said this morning.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
In the release issued this morning, NTSB officials said the preliminary investigation could take up to 14 days, with the entire investigation taking up to 18-24 months.
“We release information in a very specific format at specific times,” NTSB media relations representative Eric Weiss said in the release. “In-Land recoveries are more difficult, so patience is appreciated as it may take some time to release updates.