A single-engine plane bound for Chattanooga reported engine failure before it crashed in Murray County, Ga., Friday night, FAA officials said.
Lynn Lunsford, spokesman for the FAA, said the engine trouble could have been fuel-related or mechanical, and a full investigation would determine the cause.
Two of the three passengers were killed in the wreck and a third was taken to Erlanger hospital, said Murray County, Ga., Sheriff Howard Ensley.
No identities had been released late Saturday.
Junior Cochran, who lives at the residence where the plane crashed and was first to the wreckage, said investigators told him the survivor, a male, was in critical condition at Erlanger with a 50 percent chance of survival.
According to the FAA, the plane, a four-seat Cessna 172K, was registered to Flight Training Express LLC, a Florida-based company. No one at the company responded to telephone messages Saturday.
Andrew Wiersma, lineman for Crystal Air in Chattanooga, said the plane typically is used in training pilots and is one of the simplest to fly.
"This type of plane is one of the most basic types," Wiersma said. "A lot of the time you'll see inexperienced pilots flying this type because that's what they learned on. But there's no way to tell how many hours this pilot had."
Cochran said his daughter and grandchildren were playing in their yard when they saw a plane fly overhead and heard the engine sputtering about 10:45 p.m.
Within three minutes, the plane hit a white oak tree, breaking off one wing and crashed into Cochran's driveway, less than 25 feet from where the children were playing, Cochran said.