Four people are now confirmed dead after a plane crashed near the Crow Mountain area in Pope County.
The small aircraft left the Russellville Regional Airport shortly after 8:00 Thursday morning, bound for Knoxville, Tennessee.
The plane crashed shortly after takeoff approximately two miles east in a residential area off Van Horn Road.
The Federal Aviation Administration tells KATV the aircraft was a single engine Beechcraft Bonanza based out of Russellville and was destroyed by fire after it crashed.
The four victims, believed to be adults, were all on board the aircraft. Pope County Sheriff Shane Jones says the victims were all deceased when emergency personnel got to the scene.
"Tragedy has struck Pope County this morning," Sheriff Jones said in a press conference. "We have to understand that there are families here that have been devastated this morning and we need to keep them in our prayers."
The victims' bodies will be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for positive identification. No one on the ground was injured and there was no personal property damage.
There is no word yet on the cause of the crash. The FAA is en route to the scene and the NTSB has been notified.