Loss of Control in Flight: Piper PA-23-250, N44HJ, fatal accident occurred July 01, 2017 in Chatsworth, Murray County, Georgia

The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Atlanta, Georgia
Lycoming; Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Piper Aircraft; Vero Beach, Florida
Hartzell Propeller; Montgomery, Alabama


Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

http://registry.faa.gov/N44HJ 

Location: Chatsworth, GA
Accident Number: ERA17FA222
Date & Time: 07/01/2017, 1644 EDT
Registration: N44HJ
Aircraft: PIPER PA23
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Defining Event: Loss of control in flight
Injuries: 4 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

On July 1, 2017, about 1644 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23-250 airplane, N44HJ, was destroyed during an in-flight breakup near Chatsworth, Georgia. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was privately owned and was being operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which originated from Moton Field Municipal Airport (06A), Tuskegee, Alabama, about 1500, and was destined for McMinn County Airport (MMI), Athens, Tennessee.

According to a family member, the pilot and his family were returning home after a week-long trip. The line service technician at 06A stated that the airplane arrived at the airport about 1000 and the pilot requested fuel. After the airplane was serviced with about 45 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel, the pilot and the passengers boarded the airplane. The pilot then unsuccessfully attempted to start the engines, and after about 5 to 7 minutes, the service technician asked if he needed assistance. The pilot responded, "no we're good…she [the airplane] does this when the engines get too hot." The pilot tried to start the engines a few more times before one of the airport tenants offered the pilot use of a battery charger. The airplane was towed into a hangar and the charger was connected. The pilot and his family decided to get something to eat while they waited for the battery to charge. Upon returning, the pilot was able to start both engines and the flight subsequently departed.

According to air traffic control and radar information obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot was not receiving radar services nor was he in communication with air traffic control while en route or at any time during the accident flight. Radar data revealed a target consistent with the accident airplane heading northeast at altitudes between 3,500 and 5,000 ft mean sea level (msl) when it encountered a boundary of advancing thunderstorms from the northwest. As the airplane neared the southern edge of the convective system, it turned east, then back to the north before turning east again, and radar contact was lost.

Witnesses in the area reported that, as the thunderstorm approached, it was not raining but they could hear thunder in the distance. As they continued to watch the thunderstorm, they heard a loud "boom" followed by pieces of the airplane and personal belongings falling out of the clouds. Shortly thereafter, one of the witnesses stated that they watched as the airplane came "tumbling and spinning" out of the sky. They continued to watch the airplane until it was out of view and then called the local authorities. 

Pilot Information

Certificate: Private
Age: 55, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used:
Instrument Rating(s): None
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: Yes
Medical Certification: Class 3 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 05/26/2015
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 01/30/2016
Flight Time:  (Estimated) 362 hours (Total, all aircraft), 100 hours (Total, this make and model), 270 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 9 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft)

The pilot, age 55, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single- and multi-engine land. He held a third-class FAA medical certificate, issued May 26, 2015. At the time of the medical examination, the pilot reported 400 total hours of flight experience and no flight experience within the previous 6 months. The certificate expired for all classes after May 2017.

There was no evidence that the pilot had completed the requirements for operation under BasicMed. A review of the pilot's logbook revealed that the last entry was dated May 23, 2017. The total time entered was 362 flight hours. His total actual instrument experience was recorded as 2 hours, and he recorded 51 hours of simulated instrument experience.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: PIPER
Registration: N44HJ
Model/Series: PA23 250
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture:1966 
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: 27-3303
Landing Gear Type: Retractable - Tricycle
Seats: 4
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 01/03/2017, Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 3180 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 2 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 5446 Hours as of last inspection
Engine Manufacturer: LYCOMING
ELT: C91A installed, not activated
Engine Model/Series: TIO-540-J4A5
Registered Owner: On file
Rated Power: 310 hp
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None

The airplane was manufactured in 1966. It was powered by two Lycoming IO-540-J4A5 engines each rated at 250 horsepower. The engines were each equipped with a Hartzell three-bladed, controllable-pitch propeller. The most recent annual inspection was completed on January 3, 2017, at a tachometer time of 5,446 hours.

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Instrument Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: DNN, 708 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 7 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 1655 EDT
Direction from Accident Site: 270°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Scattered / 900 ft agl
Visibility:  10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: Broken / 1400 ft agl
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 8 knots / 18 knots
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual:
Wind Direction: 20°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual:
Altimeter Setting: 30.11 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 20°C / 20°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: Heavy - Thunderstorms - Rain
Departure Point: Tuskegee, AL (06A)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Athens, TN (MMI)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 1500 CDT
Type of Airspace: Class G

There was no record of the pilot receiving a preflight weather briefing from an official, access-controlled source.

An Area Forecast that included the state of Georgia was issued at 1345 by the Aviation Weather Center (AWC). The portion of the Area Forecast for Georgia forecast for the accident time scattered clouds at 3,500 ft msl, scattered clouds at 5,000 ft msl, isolated rain showers and thunderstorms with moderate rain, possibly severe storms, and cumulonimbus clouds with tops to FL450 (45,000 ft msl).

An Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) was located at Dalton Municipal Airport (DNN), Dalton, Georgia, about 7 miles west of the accident site at an elevation of 708 ft msl.

At 1635, DNN reported wind from 350° at 19 knots with gusts to 35 knots, 4 statute miles visibility, heavy rain at the airport and a thunderstorm between 5 and 10 miles from the airport, scattered clouds at 1,000 ft above ground level (agl), scattered clouds at 3,000 ft agl, a broken ceiling at 3,600 ft agl, temperature 26°C, dew point temperature 22°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.09 inches of mercury. Remarks included lightning more than 10 miles away to the west through northeast.

At 1655, DNN reported wind from 020° at 8 knots with gusts to 18 knots, wind direction variable between 346° and 056°, 2 statute miles visibility, heavy rain at the airport and a thunderstorm between 5 and 10 miles from the airport, scattered clouds at 900 ft agl, a broken ceiling at 1,400 ft agl, an overcast cloud base at 2,300 ft agl, temperature 20°C, dew point temperature 20°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.11 inches of mercury. Remarks included lightning more than 10 miles away to the west through east.

SIGMETs

There were no non-convective Significant Meteorological Information (SIGMET) advisories active for the accident location at the accident time.

At 1555, the AWC issued the following Convective SIGMETs applicable to Georgia, which were valid for two hours (see figure 1).

Figure 1. Boundaries of convective SIGMETs 60E and 61E issued at 1555 (Red dot denotes accident location).

One hour earlier, at 1455, the AWC issued the following convective SIGMET, which was valid for two hours (see figure 2).

Figure 2. Boundaries of convective SIGMETs 54E issued at 1455 (Red dot denotes accident location). 

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: 3 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries:  N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 4 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 34.711389, -84.728056

The wreckage was scattered over a large area of very dense vegetation. The debris path was about 1 mile in length, oriented on a heading about 030° magnetic. The first components located along the debris path were fragments of the fuselage. Additional components located along the debris path included fragments of the right and left wing assemblies. The left engine remained attached to a section of the left wing assembly and the right engine was separated from the right wing and located at the end of the debris path. The fuselage came to rest near the wings. The fuselage, cockpit, cabin section, empennage, and engines sustained heavy impact damage. Examination of the wings and the horizontal stabilizers revealed fractures that were consistent with overstress.

Examination of the airframe and both engines revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. 

Medical And Pathological Information

The Division of Forensics Sciences, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Decatur, Georgia, performed an autopsy on the pilot. The cause of death was noted as multiple blunt force trauma.

Toxicology testing performed at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified 12 (mg/dl, mg/hg) ethanol in blood, which was consistent with postmortem production. Amlodipine was detected in the liver. Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker heart medication used in the treatment of hypertension.

Additional Information

Spatial Disorientation

According to the FAA's General Aviation Joint Steering Committee, a pilot's sight, supported by other senses, allows a pilot to maintain orientation while flying. However, when visibility is restricted (i.e., no visual reference to the horizon or surface detected), the body's supporting senses can conflict with what is seen. When this spatial disorientation occurs, sensory conflicts and optical illusions often make it difficult for a pilot to tell which way is up.

The FAA Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3) described some hazards associated with flying when visual references, such as the ground or horizon, are obscured:

The vestibular sense (motion sensing by the inner ear) in particular tends to confuse the pilot. Because of inertia, the sensory areas of the inner ear cannot detect slight changes in the attitude of the airplane, nor can they accurately sense attitude changes that occur at a uniform rate over a period of time. On the other hand, false sensations are often generated; leading the pilot to believe the attitude of the airplane has changed when in fact, it has not. These false sensations result in the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation.

FAA Advisory Circular AC 60-22, Aeronautical Decision Making, stated, "Pilots, particularly those with considerable experience, as a rule always try to complete a flight as planned, please passengers, meet schedules, and generally demonstrate that they have 'the right stuff.'" One of the common behavioral traps identified was "Get-There-Itis." The text stated, "Common among pilots, [get-there-itis] clouds the vision and impairs judgment by causing a fixation on the original goal or destination combined with a total disregard for any alternative course of action."

FAA Advisory Circular AC-00-6B, Aviation Weather, described thunderstorms and turbulence associated with them. The publication stated in part:

A thunderstorm is a local storm, invariably produced by a cumulonimbus cloud, and always accompanied by lightning and thunder, usually with strong gusts of wind, heavy rain, and sometimes with hail. The advisory circular further stated in part: Turbulence is present in all thunderstorms. Severe or extreme turbulence is common. Gust loads can be severe enough to stall an aircraft at maneuvering speed or to cause structural damage at cruising speed. The strongest turbulence occurs with shear between updrafts and downdrafts. Outside the cumulonimbus cloud, turbulence has been encountered several thousand feet above, and 20 miles laterally from, a severe storm.

The FAA Aeronautical Information Manual, Turbulence Reporting Criteria Table, stated in part:

Severe: Turbulence that causes large, abrupt changes in altitude and/or attitude. It usually causes large variations in indicated airspeed. Aircraft may be momentarily out of control.


Extreme: Turbulence in which the aircraft is violently tossed about and is practically impossible to control. It may cause structural damage.

NTSB Identification: ERA17FA222
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, July 01, 2017 in Chatsworth, GA
Aircraft: PIPER PA23, registration: N44HJ
Injuries: 4 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On July 1, 2017, about 1644 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23-250 airplane, N44HJ, was destroyed during an inflight breakup near Chatsworth, Georgia. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at Moton Field Municipal Airport (06A), Tuskegee, Alabama and was destined for McMinn County Airport (MMI), Athens, Tennessee. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to family members, the pilot and his family were returning home after a weeklong trip. Witnesses at the departure airport recalled servicing the airplane earlier that morning. The line service technician at 06A stated that the airplane arrived about 1000 and requested fuel. After the airplane was fueled with about 45 gallons of aviation gasoline, the pilot and the passengers boarded the airplane. The pilot then unsuccessfully attempted to start the engines and after about 5-7 minutes the service technician asked if he needed assistance. The pilot responded, "no we're good…she (the airplane) does this when the engines get too hot." The pilot tried to start the engines a few more times before asking the service technician if he had a battery charger. The technician told the pilot that he did not have a battery charger and offered the use of the airport vehicle to charge the battery. The pilot connected battery cables from the vehicle's battery to the airplane's battery and again tried start the engines, with no success. One of the field tenants offered the pilot use of a battery charger. The airplane was towed into a hangar and the charger was connected. The gauge on the charger displayed that the battery would take 2 hours to charge. The pilot and his family decided to get something to eat while they waited for the battery to charge. When the pilot and his family returned, they boarded the airplane and both engines were started; he taxied to the runway and departed about 1500.

According to information obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot was not receiving radar services, nor was he in communication with air traffic control (ATC) while en route or at any time during the accident flight. Radar data revealed a target consistent with the accident airplane heading northeast when it encountered a boundary of advancing thunderstorms from the northwest. Further review of the radar data showed that as the airplane penetrated the thunderstorm radar contact was lost.

According to witnesses, they watched as a thunderstorm approached, it was not raining at the time but they could hear the thunder in the distance. As they continued to watch the thunderstorm they heard a loud "boom" followed by observing pieces of the airplane and personal belongings falling out of the clouds. Shortly thereafter, one of the witnesses stated that they watched as the airplane came "tumbling and spinning" out of the sky. They continued to watch the airplane until it was out of view and then called the local authorities.

The wreckage was scattered over a large area that included very dense vegetation. The debris field was about 1 mile in length, oriented toward 030° true. The first components located along the debris field were fragments of the fuselage. Additional components located along the debris path included fragments of the right and left wing assembly. The left engine remained attached to a section of the left wing assembly and the right engine was separated from the wing and was at the end of the debris path. The fuselage came to rest near the wings. The fuselage, cockpit, cabin section, empennage and engines were destroyed.

The wreckage was recovered from the site and retained for further examination.

Kinsley Wilson

    

Austin Day  

Two children who were killed in a plane crash Saturday were “happy kids” who had a “wonderful life,” their great aunt, who lives in Corinth, said.

Betty Burrell said she and her husband Bill practically raised the children, Austin Day and Kinsley Wilson, who died in the plane crash in Georgia.

The children’s mother, Melody Loveless, also lives in Corinth.

Kinsley loved attending Corinth Elementary School and lived with Burrell on County Road 715 in Corinth.

Austin lived in Alcorn County until last August when he went to stay with his grandmother, who lived outside of Chattanooga, Tenn.

The children, who were both 10, grew up in Alcorn County. They also went to Alcorn Central Elementary School before Kinsley was transferred to Corinth city schools and Austin moved to Tennessee.

The children’s grandmother, Mary Jo Yarbrough, and her husband, the pilot, Dexter Lee Gresham of Etowah, Tenn., were also killed in the crash.

The last time the Burrells saw the children was June 26 at the Iuka airport. They drove Kinsley to the airport to meet Austin, Gresham and Yarbrough, who is Burrell’s sister-in-law, to take a vacation trip to Mobile, Ala.

On the way to the Iuka airport, Kinsley said she was going to get her driver’s license when she turned 16 in six years. Kinsley said she was going to drive Burrell everywhere then.

At the airport, Austin asked if he could stay with Burrell and Bill, whom he called nanny and papaw. He said he wanted to stay behind and help papaw at the shop.

But it was thought best that Austin go on the trip because he had not seen his sister since Christmas, but they were close and talked on the phone often. Kinsley missed her brother “terribly,” Burrell noted.

“Now I’ve lost both of them,” Burrell said.

The crash happened on the way back from Mobile to Etowah, Tenn. where Yarbrough lived. They were going to go to Dollywood when they got back to Tennessee.

Kinsley was born at Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth, and Austin was born in Memphis because he was premature at 6 months. He weighed 1 pound, 15 ounces at birth.

Burrell and her husband are the children’s great aunt and uncle but were more like grandparents to them. They were both “real good kids,” she said. She and her husband made sure they had “plenty.”

Kinsley was a “whiz” on computers, and both of the children were smart, she said. Kinsley turned 10 the day before they left on the trip.

Burrell talked to Austin and Kinsley the day before the crash and heard they were having a good time on the trip. Kinsley said they had seen the dolphins, the Naval ship, museums and went swimming.

Burrell tried to call Saturday but did not get an answer, and law enforcement told her about the crash Sunday.

The children had flown before and enjoyed it, she said. The vacation trip had been planned for awhile. The children did not get to see each other over spring break because they were off at different times.

Coping with the loss of the children is hard, Burrell said. Her grandchildren are calling her regularly to check on her, and people are stopping by to make sure she and her husband are OK. They are getting a lot of support from their church, North Corinth Baptist Church.

It will be difficult in the coming weeks as the children come back home to be laid to rest in Bethlehem Baptist Cemetery in Alcorn County where other family members are buried.

They are just taking it “day by day” and praying, said Burrell, who referred to the “good Lord.”

Corinthian Funeral Home will be handling the arrangements.

Dexter Lee Gresham, 55, his wife, Mary Jo Yarbrough, 61

MCMINN COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — Neighbors of a McMinn County couple who were killed in a Georgia Plane crash, say they were kind people and they are saddened to hear about their death.

Carl Hicks remembers his neighbor Mary Jo Yarbrough.

“She worked in her garden all of the time. She loved them. Working in her garden. Working flowers,” Hick said.

Yarbrough and her husband Dexter Lee Gresham lived in a home in Etowah.

Officials at the McMinn County Airport say the couple rented a hanger there. They left from the airport a week ago. On Saturday, Yarbrough and Gresham were killed in a plane crash in Murray County, Georgia, along with Yarbrough’s two grandchildren, Austin Day, 10, and Kingsley Wilson,10. Wilson and Day are from Mississippi. Hicks enjoyed having Yarbrough and Gresham as neighbors.

“They were good people.They were hard workers. Had good personalities. Very helpful,” Hicks said.

He’s glad he got to know them.

“You couldn’t ask for a better neighbor,” Hicks said.

Hicks didn’t know what to think when he heard they were killed in the plane crash.

“I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. It is just something you don’t expect,” he said.

When the couple would go on vacation, Hicks made sure to look after their property.

“I kept an eye on it when they were gone. And they did the same for me. If I was going to be gone. They would keep an eye on my place,” he said.

Whether it is mowing the grass, or helping out. Hicks and other neighbors plan to lend a hand to the couple’s relatives.

“I am going to do whatever it takes to see if they are taken care of,” Hicks said.

Officials at the Corinthian Funeral Home in Mississippi say they are planning the service for the two children. NTSB is still investigating the crash.


https://wdef.com

July 03--UPDATE: A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot of the plane was flying from an airport in Auburn, Ala., to somewhere in Tennessee when it crashed Saturday.

According to the Murray County, Ga., Sheriff's Office, Dexter Lee Gresham filed a flight plan with the McMinn County, Tenn., Airport on June 26, five days before the crash. This was where the owners normally kept the plane, located close to their home in Etowah, Tenn.

A spokesperson for the McMinn County Airport was not sure when specifically the pilot took off last week. The flight plan said they were flying to Mobile, Ala. But a spokesperson for that airport could not immediately find a record of that plane landing or taking off from Mobile.

The plane itself was registered to Mary Jo Yarbrough. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Piper PA-23 Aztec was built in 1966. Yarbrough registered the twin-engine plane in 2013.

Workers for Lycoming, a Williamsport, Pa., company, made the engine.

The NTSB will lead the investigation, with the FAA assisting. Generally, the FAA looks at whether a pilot broke any regulations. The NTSB, meanwhile, determines the cause of a crash.

In this case, the crash occurred near a thunderstorm, which can wreck havoc on a small plane like the Aztec because of the swirls of intense wind.

The NTSB typically releases a preliminary report within 7-10 business days of the plane crash.

ORIGINAL STORY: Murray County Coroner Jason Gibson released the identities of the four people who died in Saturday's plane crash:

* Dexter Lee Gresham, 55, of Etowah, Tenn.

* Mary Jo Yarbrough, 61, of Etowah, Tenn.

* Austin Day, 10, of Corinth, Miss.

* Kinsley Wilson, 10, of Corinth, Miss

Day and Wilson were Yarbrough's grandchildren, Gibson said.

The crash happened at approximately 4:45 p.m Saturday.

The plane is believed to have disintegrated in the air, and the crash site is located near Piney Hill Road and Old Highway 411.


http://www.timesfreepress.com

CHATSWORTH — Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board combed over a wide field of debris Sunday from Saturday’s airplane crash in the Ramhurst area but could offer little in the way of answers.

Four people died Saturday when a twin-engine 1960s-era Piper PA 23 aircraft came apart in midair during a severe storm around 4:44 p.m. Officials had not released the names of those who died in the crash or any information on where the flight took off or was heading.

Eric Alleyne, air safety investigator for the NTSB, said finding out what caused the plane to come apart and crash in the area between Ramsey Road and Piney Hill Road will take time. He said airplanes such as the one in Saturday’s crash don’t have the sophisticated telemetry “black boxes” seen in larger passenger craft.

“This is the first part of the process and it will take time,” Alleyne said after examining larger pieces like the passenger compartment and cockpit in a yard in the 1100 block of Piney Hill Road. “All we know is that the plane broke up in flight, and you can see the pattern of debris consistent with that.”

Alleyne said the debris path began near Ramsey Road, a half mile south of where the bodies of four people were found. He said the plane was flying from the south to the north, but witnesses who came to the site Sunday could be heard telling officials they had seen the plane flying before the crash to the north near Old Federal Road and it appeared to be fine. Alleyne said it will take many pieces to come together before a full picture of what happened can be determined.

“We will take a look at everything,” he said. “It could be six months to a year before we know exactly what happened. We will look at the pilot’s record and maintenance records of the aircraft. As we gather more and more evidence, we will get a better picture of what happened. Right now, I don’t know.”

Several pieces of the craft were not found Sunday morning. At least one engine and the rudder of the tail were not part of the recovered wreckage, which will be taken to Griffin in an attempt to reassemble the craft, Alleyne said.

The path of the crash led from Ramsey Road across a wooded area and creek, over a low-lying field, across Piney Hill and ended with the fuselage and passenger compartment on a hill on the north side of the road. Murray County officials were using drones to fly over areas which were not easily accessible in the wooded areas south of where the cabin was found searching for more debris.

“Witnesses have told us they heard a loud boom and saw parts falling from the sky,” Alleyne said. “It takes time, and as we get parts collected and collect more evidence, we will have answers.”

Sheriff Gary Langford said on Saturday that the victims were believed to be from Tennessee.

http://www.daltondailycitizen.com

MURRAY COUNTY, GA (WRCB) -  UPDATE: NTSB and FAA officials are investigating a deadly plane crash in Murray County, Georgia.

Murray County Sheriff Gary Langford said four people died in the crash that happened on Piney Hills Road at 4:44 p.m.

Langford told Channel 3 it was a Piper PA-23 that went down. 

Officials said the victims are from Tennessee. Right now, it's unclear which airport the plane was coming from and where the four people were heading to on Saturday.

At the time of the crash, Langford said the conditions included heavy rain, strong wind, and lightning.

"Most of the people are telling us that the plane did come apart in mid-air and from what we've found at the scene, that's evidently what had happened," Sheriff Gary Langford of the Murray County Sheriff's Office said.

He said the wings and engine were separated from the plane. The cockpit was the only part of the plane still intact. 

Langford said this is the second crash he's responded to in his time as sheriff. He said the debris from the crash spans a five mile radius.

"We've got a debris field. We've got some from south of this area where we're at now. We've got some from the east of it. Some from the north of it. The debris area is pretty big," Sheriff Langford said.

Right now, investigators are not releasing the identities of the victims.

http://www.wrcbtv.com

Four people died in a plane crash Saturday afternoon in Ramhurst, Georgia, Murray County Sheriff Gary Langford confirmed. 

Two females and two males were killed in the incident involving a Piper PA-23. 

"At the time this happened there was a heavy storm, rain, heavy wind, had lightning...at this point we just don't know what happened," Langford told reporters at a news conference near the scene of the crash. 

The crash happened at approximately 4:45 p.m.

Langford said it's believed the plane disintegrated in the air, and the crash site is located near Piney Hill Road and Old Highway 411. 

It's unclear where the plane left from and where it was going, Langford said, adding that authorities are not yet releasing the plane's tail number.

"So far we have not found a flight plan," Langford said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is on its way to investigate the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board. 

http://www.timesfreepress.com




MURRAY COUNTY, GA (WRCB) -  NTSB and FAA officials are investigating a deadly plane crash in Murray County, Georgia.

Murray County Sheriff Gary Langford said four people died in the crash that happened on Piney Hills Road at 4:44 p.m.

Langford told Channel 3 it was a twin-engine Piper PA-23 that went down. 

Officials said the victims are from the Tennessee area. Right now, it's unclear which airport the plane was coming from and where the four people were heading to on Saturday.

At the time of the crash, Langford said the conditions included rain, strong wind, and lightning.

"Most of the people are telling us that the plane did come apart in mid-air and from what we've found at the scene, that's evidently what had happened," Sheriff Gary Langford of the Murray County Sheriff's Office said.

He said the wings and engine were separated from the plane. The cockpit was the only part of the plane still intact. 

Langford said this is the second crash he's responded to in his time as sheriff. He said the debris from the crash spans a five mile radius.

"We've got a debris field. We've got some from south of this area where we're at now. We've got some from the east of it. Some from the north of it. The debris area is pretty big," Sheriff Langford said.

Right now, investigators are not releasing the identities of the victims.

http://www.wrcbtv.com



CHATSWORTH, Ga. — Murray County Sheriff Gary Langford says a small plane crashed in Chatsworth, killing 4 on board.

According to the sheriff, the plane was a twin-engine out of Tennessee and it came down near Piney Hill Road.

Deputies arrived around 5:30 pm.

The Sheriff's Office contacted the Federal Aviation Administration.

Langford says there was heavy rain in the area before the crash.

http://newschannel9.com

CHATSWORTH, Ga. -- Authorities confirm there were fatalities from a small plane that crashed during the Fourth of July Weekend in northwest Georgia.

According to Murray County Sheriff Gary Langford, the twin-engine plane crashed on Piney Hill Road in Chatsworth, roughly 90 miles north west of Atlanta. Langford said that there were fatalities with the crash, and now believe there were four victims.

According to a spokesperson with the Federal Aviation Administration, witnesses reported seeing a Piper PA23 go down around 4:45 p.m. The spokesperson initially said that witnesses reported seeing the plane "explode in the air," but later said that information didn't appear to be correct.

At this time, investigators are in the process of combing through the wreckage and have only found one of the plane's engines. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.