WBRZ - Baton Rouge

JASPER, Ala. - Authorities believe a plane was taken by teenagers on a joyride before it crashed in Alabama, killing all three people aboard.

Walker County sheriff's Chief Deputy James Painter says authorities are still investigating but believe the teenagers took the plane without permission and were "sort of joyriding in it" before it crashed Tuesday night.

Painter said the plane went down in a wooded area near Jasper, northwest of Birmingham.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the Piper PA 30 went down less than a mile from the Walker County Airport.

The names of the three occupants of the plane haven't been released.