On June 3, a small plane crash near Sugar Valley Airport in Mocksville, N.C., resulted in the deaths of the pilot and one passenger, while a second passenger sustained serious injuries. A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provided insights into the incident. The pilot, flying a Universal Stinson 108, was alerted by a communications operator about a turtle on the runway. To avoid the turtle, the pilot landed approximately 1,400 feet down the 2,424-foot runway and lifted the right main wheel. After this maneuver, the operator noted that the airplane disappeared from her sight following a throttle increase.
Witnesses reported seeing the pilot temporarily raise the right wheel to dodge the turtle, causing the plane’s wings to rock back and forth before it seemingly took off again. Shortly thereafter, a man mowing grass at the end of the runway heard a crash and saw smoke rising from the crash site.
The aircraft eventually came down in a dense wooded area, approximately 255 feet from the runway. Upon impact, it caught fire and became wedged between trees, remaining mostly intact apart from some fabric pieces that were found in a nearby stream. The left wing was folded under the fuselage, while the right wing was bent toward the tail.
The NTSB’s preliminary findings do not speculate on the probable cause of the crash, which will be addressed in a forthcoming final report that is expected to take one to two years to complete.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image of the presented article.
