All five people killed aboard a single-engine plane that crashed and caught fire at First Flight Airport at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in North Carolina over the weekend have been identified, officials said Tuesday. .
The National Park Service (NPS) identified the victims as Shashwat Ajit Adhikari, 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland; Jason Ray Campbell, 43, Southern Pines, North Carolina; Kate McAllister Neely, 39, of Southern Pines, North Carolina; Matthew Arthur Fassnacht, 44, of Marietta, Georgia; and a 6-year-old child, whose name was not provided.
“National Park Service employees at Wright Brothers National Memorial, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (Outer Banks Group) extend their deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones affected by this tragedy,” David said Hallac, superintendent of the Outer Banks Group, said in a statement.
The Cirrus SR-22 plane crashed around 5 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area near the airstrip, located near the town of Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks.
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A Cirrus SR-22 plane crashed around 5 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area near the landing strip at the Wright Brothers National Memorial First Flight Airport in North Carolina. (Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, file)
Witnesses reported that the plane was attempting to land at the airport when the plane crashed and ignited a fire that caused the plane to catch fire, officials said.
Kill Devil Hills firefighters and other local fire departments helped put out the flames, but there were no survivors.
The plane was carrying five people, including a 6-year-old child, at the time of the crash near the Wright Brothers Memorial. There were no survivors. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, file)
Campbell was a decorated lieutenant colonel assigned to the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, according to Stars and Stripes. He served approximately 19 years on active duty and served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2006.
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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the accident and the Federal Aviation Administration has been notified.
“We’re here to understand what happened, why it happened and how we can prevent it from happening again,” NTSB investigator Ryan Enders told reporters Sunday.
The NTSB expects to release a preliminary report on the accident within 10 days, although the full investigation into the causes of the accident could take between nine months and a year.
The Wright Flyer first took off at Kitty Hawk with Orville taking the controls and Wilbur racing alongside him in 1903. (Wilbur and Orville Wright via National Park Service)
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The Wright Brothers National Memorial was built in the area where Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted “a series of experiments that, three years later, resulted in the world’s first controlled heavier-than-air powered flight,” according to the NPS.
