Teen dies in Washington County plane crash

FAYETTEVILLE — The pilot who died Monday night brought a friend “up to school” and was returning to Texas when the plane crashed south of Prairie Grove, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Gabriel Hatton, 17, of McKinney, Texas, was the only person on board, according to the Sheriff’s Office. No injuries on the ground were reported.

The single-engine Cessna 150 crashed in the Cove Creek area just before 9 p.m., according to a preliminary report by the Federal Aviation Administration. The cause of the crash wasn’t known.

Kelly Cantrell, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office, said Hatton’s father said his son made the flight a few times before.

Sheriff Tim Helder said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. Helder said his office will assist.

Coroner Roger Morris said the preliminary investigation indicated the cause of death is blunt force trauma. Morris said the body was sent to the state Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy.

The plane crashed in woods near 21000 Pierson Road. The Cessna had taken off from Drake Field en route to an airfield in Texas. The aircraft was registered to Wingnut Enterprises of Allen, Texas.

Washington County officials say information from the Air Force played a key role in finding the plane.

John Luther, Washington County’s director of emergency management, said the Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., used radar to give searchers an approximate latitude and longitude for the Cessna. Emergency personnel used those coordinates to narrow their search, Luther said.

“It was extremely accurate and very helpful,” Luther said. “Things like that not only speed the process but help keep our first-responders safe.”

Luther said the plane went down in a remote area, heavily wooded with very rugged terrain. A Sheriff’s Office deputy found the plane at 11:13 p.m.

Luther said more than 40 first-responders from the county and local police and fire departments were involved in the search. Agencies included the Sheriff’s Office; Washington County Department of Emergency Management; Washington County Urban Search and Rescue; Air Evac; Central Emergency Medical Service; and the Strickler, Prairie Grove, West Fork, Lincoln and Morrow fire departments.

“It went off about as smoothly as I’ve seen,” Luther said. “Especially when you consider the terrain. Everything was up and down, rocky. It was dark and the tree canopy is as thick as can be.”

The Sheriff’s Office received multiple calls about the crash, the first of which came in shortly before 8:45 p.m., Cantrell said.

Helder said initial reports indicated residents heard what sounded like an aircraft losing power, stalling and going down.