Pilot killed when plane crash lands in Georgia neighborhood, officials say
A pilot was killed in an early morning plane crash in a residential neighborhood in Augusta, Georgia, authorities told news outlets.
The single-engine Beechcraft 36 went down at about 7:10 a.m. Thursday, May 2, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Officials said the pilot was the only person on board.
Photos of the wreckage showed the mangled aircraft still smoldering in a homeowner’s front yard.
“Our teams are actively working to manage and extinguish the fire,” Augusta fire officials wrote on Facebook. Please avoid the area to allow emergency services to operate safely.”
The small plane had just taken off from Daniel Field and was headed back to the airfield when it struck a tree and crashed, The Augusta Chronicle reported, citing Sgt. Caleb Lee with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
Coroner Mark Bowen confirmed the pilot was killed, the newspaper reported. There were no reports of injuries on the ground.
Tennet Houston witnessed the fiery crash, telling WJBF: “I went over there to see if anybody was in it ... but at that point, it was too late. The plane had already exploded, was engulfed.”
Authorities haven’t named the pilot who was killed, but Augusta University officials identified him as Jason McKenzie, an associate director of philanthropy at the school, WRDW reported.
“His passion for the university and our athletics programs was unsurpassed,” an AU official told the station. “We are keeping Jason’s family, friends and colleagues in our thoughts and prayers.”
Local officials credited the seasoned pilot with avoiding other structures in the area.
“It damaged trees and power lines and knocked out power,” Commissioner Catherine Smith-McKnight told WJBF. “But he protected everybody else.”
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
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