Officials said a twin-engine plane crashed today as it tried to land amid low fog at a small airport in northwest North Carolina, killing all six people on board, including three prominent members of the Paulding County Republican Party.

The three Republicans killed in the crash were John Wesley Rakestraw, Steve Simpson and Hal Echols, the Governor’s office said.

Rakestraw owned the planed. He was the CEO of Blue Sky Airways, based out of Dallas, Georgia. He is a developer in Paulding County who hosted a campaign fundraiser for Governor Perdue at his farm in 2006.

Simpson is also a developer in Paulding County.

Echols is a Paulding County Commissioner.

Stephanie Conner, a Surry County, North Carolina emergency services shift supervisor, said investigators had confirmed there were no survivors. The Federal Aviation Administration said the flight originated at the Polk County-Cornelius Moore Field in Cedartown, Georgia.

Surry County officials said the King Air C90A crashed in a neighborhood near the Mount Airy airport around 11:30 a.m. The plane split in half after falling into a grassy area between two homes. Spokesman Warren Woodberry of the FAA said no one on the ground was hurt.

Woodberry said the plane was headed for Mount Airy. Kelvin Boyette, the Mount Airy airport manager, said the passengers were on their way to Primland, a hunting and golf resort in Meadows of Dan, Virginia, about 25 miles north of the airport.

Boyette said the plane was attempting to land when it missed on its approach and may have been trying to circle back for another attempt before it crashed.

According to FAA records, the plane is registered to Blue Sky Airways in Dallas, Georgia.

One of the men on board was identified by his cousin as John Rakestraw, a pilot who owned a construction company in Dallas with the same address listed on the plane's registration.

Ronald Rakestraw said, "I received a call earlier. I called my nephew to confirm it."