ATLANTA, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The chief executive of a Georgia textile company has been identified as one of two people who died in a plane crash in northwest Atlanta, officials say.
Peter Mallen, CEO of Mallen Industries, was aboard the twin-engine jet when it crashed shortly after leaving the Fulton County airport, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday.
The Raytheon 360 Premier I jet was registered to Mallen Industries, the Federal Aviation Administration reported. The Norcross-based company's website says it produces "high quality textile products for the industrial, automotive, active wear and intimate apparel industries."
Mallen, 67, of Atlanta, was a licensed pilot.
The identity of the second person in the plane has not been released pending notification of next of kin.
The plane was headed for New Orleans when it crashed not long after takeoff and burned near a residential development about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, said the Atlanta fire department and the FAA.
A witness, Kevin Krapp, said the plane appeared to bank away from houses at the last minute, hitting the ground in a wooded area about 200 yards from houses.
No one of the ground was reported injured.
