(Daily360.com) – A small airplane carrying five people crashed near a Nashville highway killing all aboard. The 1978 Piper PA-32R’s still unidentified pilot radioed into John C. Tune Airport that he missed his approach and was instructed by the air traffic controller to re-approach and try again.
It was at that point when the pilot told the controller he’d lost his engine. The airplane was at a height of 2,500 feet when the engine “shut down” according to the pilot and the air craft began to descend. The air controller told the pilot that they’d cleared a runway for him and he should attempt to make it back. The pilot declared an emergency and said although he could see the airport he would not be able to make it there.
At 1,600 feet the pilot relayed that he was going to be landing but “I don’t know where.” The air controller is heard on the official recording instructing the pilot to glide the aircraft in and head toward the airport. The airplane crashed roughly three miles from Tune Airport in a grassy area behind a Costco store. No buildings were damaged and no-one on the ground was injured. Tragically, the pilot and the four others aboard, including three children were killed. Witnesses on the ground say they saw the plane crash and burst into flames almost immediately upon impact. The deceased have not yet been identified.
So far all that is known about the flight is that it left from a small airport in Kentucky at 7:19 pm and was scheduled to land at Tune at 7:43pm. Its tail number is registered for an airplane based in Canada. The Nashville police chief called the explosion “catastrophic” but did not indicate what may have occurred prior to the crash. The mayor of Nashville offered his condolences via social media with a link to a photo of the wreckage. Federal investigators have begun their investigation into what may have happened regarding the pilot missing the airport and subsequent engine failure.
Copyright 2024, Daily360.com
