Authorities have identified the three men killed in a plane crash Tuesday near Athens.

Gordon Hall, 63, of Martindale, Texas, Donald Grieb, 67, of Houston, and Chris Weber, 65, of Missouri City, Texas, were killed in the crash, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Medical Examiner’s Office reported Friday.

The plane took off Tuesday from Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina, according to authorities. At about 4:30 p.m., while the Piper PA-46 was traveling to Tuscaloosa National Airport, it crashed about 10 miles south of Athens.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Department expressed condolences for the victims.

“Our hearts go out to the families of those involved,” deputies posted. “Each family extremely gracious and understanding of the situation at hand.”

The sheriff’s department also noted on Facebook that the crash occurred on property owned by a longtime firefighter.

“He and his family were exceptional hosts while we did what we needed to do during the investigation, including herding his goats out of her way,” sheriff’s department officials wrote.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will take the lead on the crash investigation. No investigative reports were released by the FAA as of Friday evening.

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