A Fayetteville man died Sunday in a plane crash in Alabama, according to multiple media reports.
The plane crashed in a remote wooded area of Weaver, in Calhoun County, Federal Aviation Administration records confirm.
Authorities identified the victim as 70-year-old Harvell “Butch” Walker Jr. He was the pilot and the only person on board, according to FAA records.
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fatal crash. No one on the ground was injured.
Walker departed from Muscle Shoals and was headed to Peachtree City, AL.com reported. He was flying a single-engine Van's RV-8 when it lost contact at about 7 p.m., the newspaper reported.
U.S. Air Force Search and Rescue, based in Pensacola, Fla., contacted Calhoun County authorities to alert them that the plane had went down. The initial search was unsuccessful, Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew Wade said.
The Air Force was then able to provide better coordinates for a second search that found Walker, Wade said. Walker’s daughter also helped in the search by providing information from a “Find My iPhone” app, the sheriff said.
The Alabama native and Auburn University graduate served in the United States Air Force for eight years and Georgia Air National Guard for 17 years, according to his obituary. He worked as a pilot for Eastern Airlines and FedEx, retiring as a captain.
The memorial service for Walker will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday in the chapel of Mowell Funeral Home in Fayetteville.
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