A pilot walked away without serious injuries after his small, private plane crashed at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport on Wednesday afternoon, according to the airport director and the Madison County Sheriff's Office.
The twin-engine plane crashed as the result of an engine malfunction, Sheriff's Office public information officer Tom Mapes said.
Steve Smith, executive director of the airport, said he was notified of the crash at 4:20 p.m.
"We received an alarm from the control tower that a twin-engine aircraft had had an incident on runway two," Smith said. "The aircraft had left the runway, clipped a sign and came to rest against the weather reporting station at McKellar-Sipes."
Smith said the plane sustained heavy damage as a result of the crash and a small fire.
The pilot, who was the only person in the plane, was able to leave the aircraft on his own without any serious injuries prior to the arrival of airport fire crews.
Smith said he could not release the pilot's name Wednesday night. He said the pilot was taken to a local hospital.
"The aircraft is an aircraft that is based here in Jackson, and the pilot is a local pilot," Smith said.
Investigators with the FAA are expected to arrive Thursday morning. The National Transportation Safety Board also may respond.
Smith said crashes similar to Wednesday's have occurred in the past at the airport, but are not frequent.
"I've been here since 2009, and this is probably the second or third of this type that I've seen," he said. "Normally we don't have anything more than flat tires or somebody running off the runway. This was a significant event, but it was taken care of quickly."
Smith says the airport fire department is made up of firefighters trained by the City of Jackson, and the Madison County Fire Department is near the airport grounds.
"We were very lucky that a current battalion chief for the City of Jackson was on duty for us this afternoon, and Greg Pewitte was able to respond quickly and do it efficiently," he said. "The Madison County Fire Department responded, along with EMS and Air Evac. We appreciate those guys responding so quickly."
Smith said the FAA investigation will begin Thursday and results should be known quickly.
Story and video: http://www.jacksonsun.com
A plane crash Wednesday at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport appears to have been caused by a landing gear malfunction, according to Jackson-Madison County Airport Authority Executive Director Steve Smith.
A private pilot, identified as Bill Douglas of Jackson, walked away without serious injuries after the twin-engine plane he was flying crashed Wednesday afternoon. No one else was on board the plane, a Beechcraft B100 owned by a Nevada holding company.
Smith said he was notified of the crash at 4:20 p.m Wednesday. The plane hit a piece of weather monitoring equipment which is currently offline.
Smith said Thursday night that the Federal Aviation Administration is continuing to investigate the accident.
Source: http://www.jacksonsun.com
MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — The sheriff’s department confirms at small plane has crashed at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport.
Officials say the pilot was the only person in the plane and that no one was injured in the crash.
The call about the crash went out around 4:30 p.m.
The aircraft involved was a privately-owned, twin-engine plane and that the crash was due to an engine malfunction, according to Tom Mapes, public information officer with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
Steve Smith, the executive director of the airport, confirms the airport’s weather tower was hit in the crash.
WBBJ Chief Meteorologist Tom Meiners says he sees a disruption in weather data from the airport.
Story and video: http://www.wbbjtv.com
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