Windsor pilot killed in Nashville airport crash, wreckage goes unnoticed for hours
WINDSOR, Ont.
The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, Oct. 30 2013, 11:39 AM EDT
A pilot from Windsor, Ont., has been killed in a crash at Nashville’s international airport that wasn’t noticed for hours, according to Windsor radio station CKLW.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board says the crash of the small plane is thought to have happened after 3 a.m. on Tuesday.
Spokesman Peter Knudson says a fire began after the plane went down but the wreckage was only spotted about six hours later by the crew of another passing plane.
The Windsor Flying Club has confirmed that the pilot killed was one of their members.
President David Gillies isn’t releasing a name but says the pilot had been licensed for quite a while.
Maintenance records show the plane was in good working order and fully capable of making the trip from Windsor to Nashville.
Windsor pilot killed in Nashville airport crash, wreckage goes unnoticed for hours - The Globe and Mail
UPDATE: Taxiing plane discovered fatal crash at Nashville airport
UPDATE: 3:13 p.m.
The plane that crashed onto one of Nashville International Airport’s runways Tuesday sat there for as long as six hours before another taxiing plane discovered the wreckage, an official said.
The small, single-engine Cessna-172 crashed sometime after 3 a.m., killing the pilot, according to National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson. The crash was reported to Nashville emergency crews shortly after 9 a.m.
An NTSB investigator was dispatched to Nashville Tuesday to probe the crash further.
“We will want to understand what the circumstances were that caused it to go undiscovered for so long,” Knudson said.
The plane is registered to the Windsor Flying club in Ontario. An official at the organization would not comment Tuesday.
The Davidson County Medical Examiner would not comment on the crash victim’s identity.
UPDATE: 1:39 p.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board has announced they are investigating the fatal plane crash at Nashville International Airport.
The crash, which was discovered this morning, took place last night, according to the agency's official Twitter account.
Reported earlier
The FAA is currently on the scene of a a small airplane crash at the Nashville International Airport. A Nashville emergency dispatcher reported one fatality.
Airport spokeswoman Emily Richard said emergency responders are on the scene of the crash on the center runway. The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority said a single-engine Cessna-172 crashed there.
Airport emergency personnel, Metro Police, Metro Fire and Metro OEM responded to the accident. The medical examiner and an accident investigator from National Transportation Safety Board were also notified.
Runway 2 Center is currently closed. The other three runways are open and operational. There were no delays to commercial flights Monday, and travelers were coming and going normally.
According to the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, the plane crash happened on Runway 2 Center involving a private aircraft, Cessna-172 single engine plane.
Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority emergency personnel, Metro Police, Metro Fire and Metro OEM responded to the accident. Aviation experts from FAA Flight Standards are on the scene.
Medical examiner and an accident investigator from NTSB have been notified.
Runway 2 Center is currently closed. The other three runways are open and operational. There are currently no delays.
Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority said it is cooperating fully with the investigation.
Details surrounding the crash are still unclear. Check Tennessean.com for updates on this developing story.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...nclick_check=1
Small plane crashes at big airport; no one notices
By Mike M. Ahlers, CNN
updated 10:09 PM EDT, Tue October 29, 2013
CNN) -- Authorities struggled to explain how a small plane crashed at an international airport, erupted in fire, but evidently went unnoticed for hours.
The incident occurred early Tuesday in Nashville.
But exactly what time remains a mystery.
The single-engine Cessna registered to the Windsor Flying Club in Ontario, Canada, evidently crashed sometime after 3 a.m. local time, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
But it wasn't noticed until well after sunrise when another plane taxiing for take-off saw an engine cover on the edge of runway 2C -- the middle of three parallel runways.
Controllers contacted airport personnel, who found the fire-scarred wreckage. The plane's sole occupant was dead, officials said.
The airport's control tower is staffed 24 hours a day, the Federal Aviation Administration told CNN. But it was not immediately clear how many controllers were in the tower during the overnight shift.
An FAA spokesman said there was low visibility overnight and fog.
Another FAA spokesman said it was not known whether the plane had been in contact with controllers, or if it had made a distress call.
The agency declined to answer questions, saying the matter was under investigation.
Airport spokeswoman Shannon Sumrall referred all questions to the NTSB.
The board spokesman, Peter Knudson, said the aircraft suffered a post-crash fire and the cause of the crash is under investigation.
The name of the victim was not released.
Small plane crashes at big airport; no one notices - CNN.com
Windsor pilot dies in Nashville plane crash, not noticed for hours
By Heather Loney Global News
NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said a fire began after the plane went down but the wreckage was only spotted about six hours later by the crew of another passing plane.
Windsor pilot dies in Nashville plane crash, not noticed for hours | Globalnews.ca
Local man dead after Windsor-registered plane crashes in Nashville
A local man was killed Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2013 when the plane he was flying crashed at an airport in Nashville, Tenn. Dense fog conditions were reported and the wreckage may not have been found by a taxiing plane until several hours after the crash. Photo courtesy of NewsChannel5.com
Chris Thompson
Oct 29, 2013 - 6:40 PM EDT
NASHVILLE — A local man is dead after the plane he rented from the Windsor Flying Club crashed at Nashville International Airport in heavy fog early Tuesday.
Windsor Flying Club president David Gillies said the man in his 30s, who is not being named pending the notification of next-of-kin, picked up the keys from the club at around 4 p.m. Monday, and was scheduled to leave sometime after 8 p.m., when the club’s offices close.
“He flew to Nashville, he tried to land on the runway there and apparently it was fogged in,” said Gillies, who spent much of the day Tuesday dealing with authorities in relation to the crash.
“Now I don’t know why he did that, but that’s what he did. He tried to land anyway, and it didn’t work.”
Gillies said the man, who had been a pilot since 1989, had rejoined the club in 2011 after a five-year absence.
“He was a member in good standing, his licence was in good standing, he was qualified to fly at night, there was no irregularities there, just he probably didn’t check the weather, or it closed in after he checked it,” said Gillies.
“I have no idea what the hell he was doing in Nashville.”
The deceased man provided no next-of-kin information and listed a Howard Avenue address, which was not current Tuesday. Members were unaware of any family connections.
Windsor police and RCMP are attempting to track down the man’s next-of-kin, Gillies said.
According to Nashville television station website newschannel5.com, emergency crews were called to the scene at around 9 a.m., after the wreckage was discovered by another taxiing aircraft; the crash may have occurred as much as six hours earlier in heavy fog.
Gillies said a flight from Windsor to Nashville in a Cessna 172, which cruises at about 180 km/h, would take about four hours.
The severely damaged plane was registered in Canada as “C-GRJH.”
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority told newschannel5.com that the single-engine plane crashed off the side of the runway.
The runway was closed as investigators examined debris scattered across a wide area.
The airport’s three other runways remained open.
An investigator with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board was en route to Nashville to investigate the crash.
Click here to watch a video about the crash.