At least four people are dead after a small plane crashed in northwestern Georgia on Saturday afternoon, the authorities there said.

The plane, a Piper PA-23, went down around 4:44 p.m. in Chatsworth, Ga., about 17 miles south of the state’s border with Tennessee, federal aviation officials said.

In a telephone interview late Saturday, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said it did not appear that anyone on the ground was injured by the crash, and added that it was unknown whether any property was damaged.

Early reports suggested the aircraft might have broken up in flight, the spokesman said, adding that the F.A.A. would investigate the crash.