Two people were killed Tuesday in a small airplane crash near the Copiah County airport.

James Ballow of Hazlehurst, a friend of both victims, identified the two killed as Gary Mosley, of Hazlehurst, a flight instructor, and Steve Davis of Brookhaven, an aircraft technician and licensed pilot. Davis was also a firefighter and deputy in Lincoln County.

Authorities are trying to determine the cause of the 3:30 p.m. crash off Lilly Road between Hazlehurst and Gallman. Witnesses told WJTV-TV in Jackson that the plane was making an emergency landing when it crashed.

A phone message left with Larry Wells, an official with the Federal Aviation Administration, was not immediately returned.

The National Transportation Safety Board will have an investigator on the scene by the end of the week.