NTSB releases preliminary report on April plane crash in Haywood Co.

HAYWOOD COUNTY, Tenn. — The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the April 20 crash near Bonds Ferry Road in Haywood County.

Two people, a mother and son from Texas, were killed in the crash, according to the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office.

The report says the Piper PA-28RT-201 plane was destroyed when the student pilot crashed around 8:52 p.m. April 20.

According to the report, the pilot met with a flight instructor on April 20 to discuss the flight from Pearland Regional Airport in Houston, Texas to Kyle-Oakley Field Airport in Murray, Kentucky.

The report says the pilot told the flight instructor that the trip was to visit a hospitalized family member, and that the flight was supposed to be a daytime trip due to incoming weather and nighttime conditions. The pilot expected to leave by 1 or 2 p.m., though the report says the flight did not take off until 6:20 p.m.

The report says the pilot started a gradual descent about two and a half minutes prior to losing radar contact due to weather conditions.

The wreckage was located around 7:30 a.m. on April 21.