ALEXANDER COUNTY, N.C. -- Officials have released the names of the two people killed in a small plane crash in Alexander County on Thursday.

Dr. Walter Long Jr., 75, and his friend Bennie Hill Sharpe, 70, were in the plane. Sharpe was a retired airline pilot but it's not clear who was flying the plane.

The plane went down on the Gryer-Teague airstrip, a grassy landing field off White Plains Road between the towns of Taylorsville and Hiddenite. The Alexander County sheriff said it appears the plane crashed while landing.

The Federal Aviation Administration put out a missing plane alert around noon. A helicopter followed a signal coming from the plane and spotted the wreckage. The pilot landed and realized there were casualties.

The state's Emergency Operations Center said the Cessna 182C was headed from Taylorsville to Statesville.