ATLANTA — The tragic crash of a private plane in north Atlanta on Friday still seems almost surreal to many affected.

WSB provided accounts of eyewitnesses moments after the crash occurred on I-285 as the Piper PA-32 slammed into the busy highway after taking off from Peachtree-Dekalb Airport.

Eyewitness Ann Wilder told WSB that she first heard the plane and then saw it go down.

“I’m headed toward Augusta-Macon. So, I’m headed east. And it flew right over my head and crashed into the barricade,” Wilder reported.

A split second later, it was tragically worse.

“And then I hear a huge boom. And I look in my side mirror, and there’s this fireball,” Wilder told WSB.

Four people onboard the plane were killed; Christopher, Phillip, and Greg Byrd, and Jackie Kulzer. They were on their way to see a family member’s graduation at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what caused the crash. The investigation should last two weeks, but it will take between six months and a year to release the full federal report.

Wilder says the crash could’ve been worse and believes the first responders saved lives that day.

“I really believe in our first responders.  I knew they could protect the people behind me,” Wilder said.

A memorial service was held for the Byrd family at 2 p.m. Monday at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville, North Carolina.