Plane used by Tom Cruise movie crew CRASHES in Colombian Andes

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An official with the aviation agency said Cruise was not on the aircraft
The official said an American, Alan Purwin, was killed along with the Colombian Carlos Berl
A third person aboard, American pilot Jimmy Lee Garland, was rushed to a hospital in Medellin
Cruise arrived last month in Colombia to film a movie called Mena, about an American pilot who worked for the late cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar

Published: 21:29 EST, 11 September 2015 | Updated: 11:32 EST, 12 September 2015

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A small plane assigned to the crew of a movie starring Tom Cruise crashed in the Colombian Andes on Friday, killing two people, including a Los Angeles-based film pilot, and seriously injuring a third, the country's civilian aviation authority said.

An official with the aviation agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, said Cruise was not on the aircraft.

The official said an American, Alan Purwin, was killed along with the Colombian Carlos Berl. A third person aboard, American pilot Jimmy Lee Garland, was rushed to a hospital in Medellin, where he was in intensive care.

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Victim: American Alan Purwin, who was one of two people killed, is seen left with Tom Cruise. American pilot Jimmy Lee Garland, right, was rushed to a hospital in Medellin, where he was in intensive care

Crash: This photo released by the San Predro de los Milagros Fire Department shows the wreckage of the small that crashed in a rural place of San Pedro de los Milagros, Colombia on Friday

Journey: Colombian soldiers are seen together with Cruise earlier this summer. Cruise arrived last month in Colombia to film a movie called Mena, about the American pilot Barry Seal

The official said the twin-engine Aerostar ran into bad weather late Friday afternoon after taking off from the colonial town of Santa Fe de Antioquia for a short flight to Medellin. No emergency was reported to air traffic controllers.

The Piper Aerostar-600, with tail number N164HH, appears to be the same aircraft that Cruise, a trained pilot, was photographed exiting the cockpit from upon his arrival in Medellin on Aug. 20 to start work on his new film.

Cruise, a trained pilot, arrived last month to Medellin to film a movie called 'Mena,' about American pilot Barry Seal, a drug runner recruited by the CIA to try and capture the late cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. Seal was shot and killed in 1986 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, allegedly by assassins sent by Escobar's Medellin cartel.

Cruise's spokeswoman, Amanda Lundberg, had no comment.

Purwin was founder and president of the Los Angeles-based Helinet Technologies, a company providing aerial surveillance technology to law enforcement. On the company's website, he's described as 'one of the top film pilots of his generation' with a list of credits from television and major Hollywood movies such as Transformers, Pearl Harbor, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Career: Purwin was founder and president of the Los Angeles-based Helinet Technologies. He is seen on the right with Prince Harry

He sat at the controls of a helicopter for the first time at age 16 and two years later took his first flying job crop dusting in Indiana, according to Helinet's website.

'Alan's enduring passion for film and flying has created aerial footage loved by millions around the world,' according to an online bio on the website of Shotover, an aerial cinematography subsidiary of Helinet.

In his last Tweet sent Wednesday, Purwin expresses joy at landing on a dirt runway between the towering jungled mountains surrounding Santa Fe de Antioquia.

Helinet's Vice President Jack Snyder declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

Garland, the sole survivor, is a flight instructor and manager of a regional airport in Georgia's Cherokee County, near Atlanta.