Two grandparents have been killed after their plane came crashing to earth as they were flying to see their family for Thanksgiving.

Patty and Joe Kreher were on their way to visit their son and grandchildren in North Carolina, USA, when their plane crashed on 19th November.

Horrifying images of the crash site show how the wrecked plane had been snapped in half by the impact.

The couple ran a company called General Machine Inc. in Freeburg, Illinois, and had been flying to the East Coast.

The crash came after the pilot reported an apparent power shortage in one of the engines.

The Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche aircraft crashed at around 11:15am.

It had earlier landed at in London, Kentucky, during the trip and was then set to land at Smith Reynolds airport but crashed at Winston-Salem.

National Transportation Safety Board officials cleared the wreckage on 21st November.

The pilot reportedly spoke with a control tower shortly before the crash, saying that one of the engines was “not making as much power as the other one.”

The causes of the crash will reportedly be investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.