CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Millersburg, Ohio couple were killed in the crash of a small plane late Friday afternoon outside Charleston. The plane had taken off from an Akron airport.

Lazarus Sommers and his wife, Maryann, were the plane's only occupants, said a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board during a news conference Saturday.

Lazarus Sommers ran GT Thunder Inc., a Holmes County company that deals in motorcycle and off-road bikes and parts. The plane was bound for an airport in Spartanburg, S.C. People commenting on social media said the couple intended to attend the Big Buck GTNCC all-terrain vehicle competition this weekend in Union, S.C. GT Thunder sponsors teams in competitions, according to website reports. One man from Kittanning, Pa., said in a post: "Please keep in prayers the Sommers family. They were supporters of AWRCS for over a decade. He will be sadly missed throughout the racing community."

A phone call to GT Thunder offices went unanswered. The company website said the business is closed on Saturdays.

The transportation safety board indicated Sommers may have been trying to avoid bad weather when the plane went down on a mountainside. A preliminary report on the crash could be ready in two weeks, according to news reports from Charleston.

The Piper PA-32 had taken off from the Akron Fulton International Airport at 3:18 p.m. Friday. The airport is located near the Rubber Bowl.