BREAKING: Stephens County Sheriff identifies pilot killed in plane crash in Jasper County as Toccoa businessman

Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley reports a plane crash in Jasper County, has been confirmed to be piloted by a local businessman from Toccoa.

According to Shirley, at 4:25 p.m. Monday afternoon, he was notified by Jasper County Sheriff Ronnie Pope that a plane had crash in rural Jasper County killing the pilot.

Pope told Shirley that the pilot was the only one aboard the plane.

Sheriff Pope asked for assistance related to identifying the deceased man.

Within an hour, Shirley was able to provide enough information to positively identify the victim.

Shirley said he went to the residence of the victim, in Stephens County, and was able to make contact with the victim’s son.

Shirley said the victim’s son told him that his father had left the Toccoa Airport around 1:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, headed to Cairo, Georgia to look at purchasing some land.

According to Pope, the plane was a Cessna 172 aircraft that crashed about 3 p.m.

The FAA will begin investigating the crash later today.

At this time, Shirley declined to release the identity of the pilot, pending notification of the victim’s family.

WNEG News will continue to follow this story and bring you additional details once they become available.