Jonathan Mathis and Travis Lawler, Associated Press
Published Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 4:05 PM ET
Last updated on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 5:15 PM EST
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The pilot of a single-engine plane that crashed near downtown Nashville told air traffic controllers he could see a runway being maintained for an emergency landing. But he said he couldn’t get there.
“I’m going to land, but I don’t know where I’m going to land!” the pilot said before the plane crashed along Interstate 40, killing all five people on board.
National Transportation Safety Board investigator Aaron McCarter said at a news conference Tuesday that the pilot had another adult and three children on board. He said the five people are Canadian citizens and authorities are working with the Canadian government to identify them.
He said it was too early to know the cause of the accident. Investigators do not yet know the pilot’s qualifications or flight time, but his experience is one of the areas of interest in the investigation.
Around 7:40 p.m. Monday, the pilot radioed to air traffic controllers to report that the engine had stopped. He said he soared over John C. Thune Airport, just west of downtown, at 2,500 feet and circled around it as he tried to land, according to recordings of radio communications.
They passed through the airport’s second runway, prompting him to glide the plane down. But by then, the plane had already descended to an altitude of 1,600 feet (488 meters).
“It’s too far. It won’t work,” he said.
That was the last sound heard from the plane, which dropped off the radar as it lost altitude.
Matthew Weiser posted a photo of the burning wreckage on social media after his plane crashed while driving on the interstate.
“I saw the plane essentially crash out of the sky, fall out of the sky and hit the ground at about a 45-degree angle,” Weiser said in a phone interview. “When it hit the ground, there was a 30- to 40-foot explosion. And all the interstate traffic stopped to process what they saw.”
Air traffic controllers then directed the helicopter crew to scan the approach to the airport for the plane while keeping other aircraft out of the emergency area. Weiser said a large number of emergency vehicles rushed to the scene within minutes.
They found the plane burst into flames in a grassy area behind a Costco on the city’s west side, just off the highway and about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south of the general aviation airport.
No drivers were injured on the interstate, Nashville Fire Department spokeswoman Kendra Loney said. Officials said there was no damage to vehicles or buildings on the ground.
According to the Canadian Civil Aircraft Registry, the plane mentioned in the radio recording was a Piper PA-32R, built in 1978 and based in Ontario.
McCarter said the flight departed from Ontario and made stops along the way at potential gas stations, including Erie, Pennsylvania, and Mount Sterling, Kentucky. McCarter added that the plane was on a normal flight trajectory with no mechanical abnormalities reported during the flight from the Kentucky airport until the pilot radioed the emergency.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. McCarter said the wreckage will be packaged for transport to a facility in Springfield, Tennessee, where the plane will be reassembled.
He said investigators don’t know why the pilot decided to circle the airport before crashing. He said the plane was approaching perpendicular to the interstate when it hit the ground.
The NTSB is expected to release a preliminary report within about 10 days. The full report will take approximately nine months to complete.
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Associated Press contributors include Sarah Brumfield in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Julie Walker in New York.
