Federal probe continues in fatal Athens plane crash; new details on 2020 Oconee crash
A final report from the federal National Transportation Safety Board on the cause of a plane crash last month in Athens that claimed the life of a Texas resident may not be complete for another 10 months to a year, Athens-Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson said Tuesday.
The May 11 crash near Athens-Ben Epps Airport killed Robert Blevins, a 55-year-old resident of Lucus, Texas, and the owner of an electrical contracting business in the Dallas area.
An autopsy report has not been released on the exact cause of Blevin’s death, but Wilson said the pilot apparently died on impact from the crash.
Witnesses reported hearing the plane experiencing engine problems before it glided low and crashed in a wooded area off Buddy Christian Road near Cherokee Road, according to an Athens-Clarke police report.
A resident of Cherokee Road reported seeing the malfunctioning plane and hearing the crash.
Blevins was piloting a restored 1962 Piper PA that he purchased in North Carolina and was flying back to his home in Texas. The plane had previously been owned by residents of California and Idaho.
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In a separate plane crash two years ago in Oconee County, the NTSB has released a preliminary report.
The March 3, 2020, crash near Bishop claimed the lives of a pilot and two passengers, all from Texas. Though the report is not final, it showed the crash may have occurred because of a strong storm system moving into North Georgia.
The Piper PA’s flight originated in Columbia, S.C., and was traveling to Tuscaloosa, Ala., when the pilot was notified by a ground controller that flying in Atlanta airspace “probably would not work” due to the weather, the report said.
The controller notified the pilot that there was a gap in the weather, but as the plane continued, the pilot “stated that the area seemed to be closing in fast” and the controller advised him to fly south around Atlanta.
The pilot then radioed, “I thought I was gonna shoot this gap here, I got a gap I can go straight through,” according to the report.
The controller advised that was fine if it looked good.
Shortly afterward, the controller asked the pilot about the flight conditions and the pilot responded, “Rain three six eight.” Then no further transmissions from the pilot.
The plane apparently took a nose-dive toward the ground, according to witness accounts in the report.
A person about a half mile from the crash site told investigators that he heard engine noise and saw the plane spinning toward the ground “in a nose” until it disappeared from sight.
A second witness also reported seeing the plane “tilted left with its nose pointed toward the ground.”
The report noted that radar returns from the plane ended on the edge of an east-west line of severe thunderstorms.
An examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions that would have inhibited normal operations, according to the report.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Federal probe continues in fatal plane crash near Athens airport
