Plane crash kills two people in Carter County
The Associated PressOriginally published: October 23. 2009 8:04AM
Last modified: October 23. 2009 8:07AM
ELIZABETHTON -- A small plane crashed and burned Thursday afternoon in mountainous terrain in East Tennessee, killing a pilot and a student, officials said.
Kathleen Bergen of the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta said the single-engine Cessna 206 crashed about 3:15 p.m. EDT in Carter County some eight miles south of the Elizabethton airport in the Tiger Creek section of Roan Mountain near the North Carolina border.
Sheriff Chris Mathes told the Johnson City Press late Thursday that the two killed were pilot Ron Royce, 70, of Elizabethton, and his student, Adam West, 38, of Wisconsin.
It was not immediately known where the plane was headed. Witnesses said the identification numbers were burned off the tail section. Bergen said the plane was registered to Focus Aviation in Elizabethton.
Officials said a homeowner helped lead rescue personnel to the site, in the southern part of the county some 15 miles from U.S. Highway 19E.
"There's a lot of (air) traffic through there," said Ernest Jackson, director of the Elizabethton/Carter County Emergency Management Agency. "There are some flight schools in the area, and this time of year people take some tours to see the leaves."
Rescue officials said skies were sunny at the time of the crash.
Copyright 2009, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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