A man was killed late Sunday morning when his single engine, personal aircraft crashed at the end of a runway at the Jackson County airport.
The man died after his plane apparently had engine trouble at about 500 feet above ground, said Steve Nichols Jackson County Emergency Services Director.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s website, the plane was an amateur-built plane manufactured in 1972. The FAA’s registry lists David J. Rushlow as an owner.
A maintenance worker at the small airport outside of Jefferson, heard the plane sputter then heard a loud noise, Nichols told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Nichols said the maintenance worker had seen the pilot working on the “experimental” plane earlier in the morning, and that the pilot had been practicing takeoffs and landings.
“When that worker came outside he saw it in flames,” Nichols said. It was unclear if the pilot was from Jackson County, but as of 1 p.m. his body had not been removed from the wreckage. The airport manager just arrived on the scene and is going through records of all aircraft housed there to determine who owned the downed plane. Authorities were waiting for representatives from the NTSB and the FAA to arrive on the scene.
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