ALMA — Authorities report as many as five people are dead after a single-engine plane crashed in a wooded area near Alma.

Bacon County Coroner Vic Peacock said in an Associated Press report Thursday that four men and one woman were killed.  In his words, the plane “just disintegrated”, scattering debris in a pine forest.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the plane — a single-engine RV-10 — crashed Wednesday about 4 miles from the local airport. The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating.

Peacock said in the report that authorities believe the plane went down shortly after takeoff Wednesday morning, more than 12 hours before the wreckage was found.

The names of those killed were not immediately released. The coroner said all of them were local residents.