Marietta first grader, father killed in North Carolina plane crash

A Cobb County first grader and his father died in a North Carolina plane crash this weekend.

Marietta resident Matthew Arthur Fassnacht, 44, was identified Tuesday by the National Park Service as one of the four adults who died in the crash. The news release did not identify a 6-year-old victim.

But on Monday, Sope Creek Elementary Principal Doug Daugherty notified families that a student with the same last name died in a plane crash.

The first grader was known for his “sweet, bubbly and caring nature,” the principal said in his message. “The Sope Creek community mourns his loss, and he will be deeply missed.”

A single-engine plane crashed in a wooded area near an airport in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, the National Park Service reported. The airplane was attempting to land at the Wright Brothers National Memorial’s First Flight Airport, witnesses reported. It caught on fire after landing.

The other adults who died in the crash were identified as Shashwat Ajit Adhikari, 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland; Jason Ray Campbell, 43, Southern Pines, North Carolina; and Kate McAllister Neely, 39, of Southern Pines, North Carolina.

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