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Georgia authorities have announced that three people died in a plane crash outside of Gainesville. Reports say that the plane crashed around 6 p.m. EST on Feb 26, 20201. The plane was heading to Florida at the time.
According to ABC-affiliate WSB-TV, the plane crashed along Memorial Park Drive and the Atlanta Highway. The pilot of the single-engine Cessna 182 attempted to return to the Gainesville airport before crashing near a Hall County mobile home park.
It is unclear exactly why the plane crashed or even why they had to turn around. Debris from the plane was found strewn across the neighborhood. Some of the wreckage landed onto one mobile home. There were four adults and one child inside at the time.
Authorities had to evacuate them from the trailer due to some fuel leakage. They are currently without a home. Luckily no one — outside of the plane — was injured. According to the Gainesville Fire Department’s division chief, Keith Smith, the family was sitting down to eat supper at the time. Currently, The American Red Cross is working with the displaced family to find them temporary housing.
Smith stated that part of the Cessna’s “wing snapped off and landed in the bedroom of the trailer.” According to the United States Aviation Administration, the Cessna was en route to Daytona Beach, Florida.
Dustin York lived in the area where the Cessna crashed. He was speaking with his mother at the time of the crash. York stated that he heard a loud noise which caused him to look up to the sky. He said that the aircraft “looked like he was trying to land safely, but it didn’t work out.”
York rushed to the scene in hope of helping any survivors. Unfortunately, “There was nobody to save, no one to help.”
The people who lost their lives in the crash were 45-year-old Courtney Flanders, 44-year-old Dan Delnoce, and 39-year-old Matthew Delnoce.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Pilot turned around before Gainesville crash that killed 3; by Shaddi Abusaid
ABC Action News: 3 killed, home evacuated after small plane crashes in north Georgia
Featured Image Courtesy of Erik Brouwer’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License