The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report on the deadly Halloween plane crash in Fentress County.
After refueling, the student pilot departed the Crossville Memorial Airport around 6:17pm on October 31, 2024 and was headed to Illinois. He was the only one on board. Around 6:37pm the Cessna hit a 100-foot tall tree in Wilder, Tennessee. The outboard half of the left wing remained lodged in the top of the tree along the wreckage path. The main wreckage was consumed by a postimpact fire.
The pilot was fatally injured.
There was a band of rain showers in the area when the crash occurred. The pilot was not in contact with air traffic control prior to the accident and there were no known distress calls received by any facilities in the area.
The NTSB says the student pilot had purchased the airplane about one month prior to the accident. He had accumulated 65 total hours of flight experience, including 30 hours in the Cessna.