ELLIJAY, Georgia -- The 68-year-old owner of Key Homes in Pataskala, Ohio, east of Columbus, has died in an private plane crash in northern Georgia. Phil Key was the pilot of the Beechcraft Bonanza when it crashed sometime Monday in the Ridge Mountain Wildlife Area near Ellijay, Georgia. The plane left the Ellijay airport around 10:30 Monday morning with three high school classmates on a sightseeing tour. Key was giving the air tours to winners of a raffle held in connection with his 50th high school reunion. The Civil Air Patrol had been searching for the site of the wreckage from the air for several days. They spotted it late yesterday afternoon in an area that was so remote crews faced a 5 to 6 hour hike to get to the site to recover the bodies. The National Transportation Safety Board is working on securing the site so they can conduct their investigation.
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