ROME, Ga. -- Two people were killed Friday in the crash of a small plane near the Richard B. Russell Regional Airport in Rome.

The Beechcraft BE 76 crashed just after takeoff about 4:20 p.m. The twin-engine plane is known as the Duchess and can carry up to four people.

Floyd County Police Chief Bill Shifflett said two people were killed in the crash behind a lake at the southern end of the airport.

Deputy Coroner Ernie Studard said two bodies were found in the debris.

Kathleen Bergen, public information officer for the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta, said the plane crashed on takeoff and burned.

The plane is registered to Aviation Atlanta Inc., a flight school based at Peachtree DeKalb Airport, but there's no word on who was aboard the Beechcraft when it went down.