At 3:15pm on Thursday, March 11, 2021, there was a report of an aircraft crash at the Macon County Airport. [LINK] A Cessna 421B (tail registration N80056) owned by DuoTech of Franklin ran off the runway this afternoon, sliding in a field for some distance before knocking over a fence and coming to rest in a corner of Liberty Wood Products. According to an eyewitness, there was a pilot and two passengers onboard the aircraft. Everyone on the aircraft exited the plane without injury before fire consumed the twin-engine Cessna. The day before the crash, the aircraft had completed a 52-minute flight testing the "Cessna Airborne Radar Test Platform" on a flight that took it into Georgia and back from 2:01pm to 2:53pm.
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Macon County EMS, Franklin Fire Department, Burningtown Fire Department, Cowee Fire Department, and West Macon Fire Department responded to assist with extinguishing the fire. The Fire Marshall and other personnel established a hazard mitigation downstream from the crash in case fuel leaked into Iotla Creek, which runs to the northeast and drains into the Little Tennessee River. The Macon County Sheriff's Office responded to provide scene security and the North Carolina Highway Patrol responded with several units to gather information for the investigation. One trooper was observed measuring the distance the aircraft slid before coming to rest. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) will conduct a thorough investigation and Macon Media will share that information once it is released.
Here is a preliminary report of the incident from the NC Highway Patrol:
At about 3:16 p.m. the North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to an aircraft crash at the Macon County Airport. A twin-engine Cessna 421 B was attempting to take off and ran off the end of the runway catching fire and sustained extensive damage. The pilot of the aircraft and two passengers escaped the aircraft without injuries. The incident is currently being investigated by the FAA and NTSB.
Nine years ago (on March 16, 2012), five people were killed in a crash at the airport. [LINK]
A pilot walked away from a crash landing near the Ledford Stretch section of the Georgia Road (US-441) on November 16, 2018.[LINK]
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Published at 8:25pm on Thursday, March 11, 2021
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