NTSB: Plane that crashed in Gordon broke up in flight

The pilots told air traffic control they were having problems with the plane’s autopilot and left altitude indicator.

DBell@CalhounTimes.com

Pilots from the Atlanta area reported that the twin-engine Cessna Citation they were flying before it crashed in Gordon County on Feb. 8 was presenting problems with the autopilot and an indicator, according to the preliminary incident report released by the National Transportation Safety Board this week.

No official cause of the crash has been determined at this time, however, the report states that several parts of the aircraft where found in the woods not near the crash site, indicating that the plane broke apart while still in the air.

On board were Roy Smith, 68, of Fayetteville, his son, 25-year-old Morgen Smith of Atlanta, the son’s girlfriend, 23-year-old Savannah

Sims of Atlanta, and 63-year-old Raymond Sluk of Senoia. All four were killed during the crash on the way to Nashville, Tennessee, according to Gordon County Deputy Coroner Christy Nicholson.

PLANE,

The private, jet-class plane, owned by Remonia Air LLC, was being flown by a commercial pilot and a private pilot. The flight plan notes indicated it was to be a “training flight” and was scheduled to arrived in Nashville at about 10:22 a.m. and depart at about 10:30 a.m. to return to Peachtree City.

According to the NTSB report, the airplane was presenting problems with both the autopilot and left altitude indicator. Air traffic controllers asked the pilots to return to the scheduled direction and altitude the plane was supposed to be traveling at after it left that course, and at one point controllers asked the pilots to return to the Peachtree City airport it had departed from to resolve the issues with the plane.

The pilots instead requested to continue to their destination, and the controller instructed to them to climb to a higher altitude and cleared them to continue. The plane climbed to 15,400 feet but soon after began a left-hand turn and disappeared from radar at 10:13 a.m.

The wreckage from the crash was found several hours later in a remote area near Fairmount, several miles into a rugged area off of Mauldin Road.

The main body of the plane was found upside down, partially submerged in a creek. The debris path covered about 7,000 feet, with portions of the plane found far from the main crash site, indicating an in-flight breakup.

Several cockpit instruments, the autopilot computer, flight director, and deicing valves were retained for further examination.