UPDATE: Pilot identified in fatal crop duster crash off Interstate 49 Cheneyville exit

Melissa Gregory, Alexandria Town Talk
·1 min read
The pilot who died in a crop duster crash on Aug. 2 was almost finished with his work when something went wrong, according to a report.

CHENEYVILLE — A crop duster crashed Tuesday on Interstate 49 at the Cheneyville exit, killing the pilot, who has now been identified.

Gill Pias was a 1996 Bolton High School graduate who owned GHS Cane Co., based in Evergreen. He was flying the crop duster, a Air Tractor AT-502, when it crashed Tuesday next to Interstate 49 at the Cheneyville exit (Exit 56).

Rapides Coroner Dr. Jonathan Hunter confirmed Pias' death, as did Pias' wife in an early Wednesday social media post.

According to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, that exit remains closed.

Exactly where the single-occupant plane crashed first wasn't known, but it came to rest in a grassy area beside the exit lane. Louisiana State Police Master Trooper Casey Wallace said a witness reported seeing smoke before the crash, but it's not known if that is related.

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Some crop dusters release smoke to determine wind direction.

The Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office also was at the scene, as well as fire and medical first responders.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a statement Tuesday afternoon that said it was investigating the crash.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Gill Pias identified as pilot killed in crop duster crash near Cheneyville