From Local 3 News: UPDATE- The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is providing new details on the plane crash
From Local 3 News: UPDATE- The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is providing new details on the plane crash that happened on May 7 in Polk County.
The NTSB’s report, which was released on Monday, says the pilot, 54-year-old Dr. Lionel Meadows, took off from South Bend International Airport, heading for Jackson County Airport in Jefferson, Georgia.
Jefferson is almost three hours from Reliance, Tennessee, where the plane crashed.
The report says around 6:45pm, about three minutes before the plane reportedly went down, the Dr. Meadows told air traffic control that he was “getting bounced around a little”.
Not too long after that, the pilot made a right turn that was not planned and contact with the pilot was lost.
Witnesses in the area at the time reported the wind being strong.
Here is the full report from the NTSB:
PREVIOUS STORY: Dr. Lionel Meadows of Commerce, Georgia, has been identified as the victim of this past weekend’s deadly plane crash.
The cosmetic surgeon lost his life when his plane went down on Sunday evening in Polk County.
According to his obituary, the 54-year-old graduated from Emory University in 1990, the Medical College of Georgia in 1994, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1998.
Robert Katz, a longtime commercial pilot and flight instructor, shared some insight on what may have happened.
“I follow these incidents because there is always something to be learned from the circumstances when they occur, and it is important that we take what we can from these incidents, which are unfortunate when they occur, and try to prevent them from happening again,” Katz said.
Katz said from live air traffic sound, there was no indication of any distress communicated by the pilot.
While we are still waiting on the official cause of the crash to be released by the FAA and NTSB, he believes maintenance issues caused the plane to break up while it was still in the air.
“That leads me to believe, along with the fact that the airplane is 45 years old built in 1978, that there might be metal fatigue or corrosion that went undetected through routine maintenance. This was the crescendo of confluence of factors,” Katz said.
Katz said that could account for the failure of the transponder, which helps identify planes on air traffic control radar.
He said such malfunctions are not uncommon in a 45-year-old airplane.
“The older these airplanes get, the more expensive they become maintenance, and that’s kind of like the weak link in the chain because it is very tempting for owners to skip on maintenance. If they do, it is at their peril,” Katz said.
He advises plane owners to stay on top of their maintenance.
“I would ask that owners of small airplanes please do not neglect your maintenance. Maintenance is very expensive; it is one of the largest expenses involved in owning your privately-owned airplane. The money you pay can save your life later,” Katz said.
Katz said any evidence of metal fatigue and corrosion would be found during the NTSB investigation.
