Pilot hurt in Enochville crash

BY BRAD A. HODGES
SALISBURY POST

ENOCHVILLE — A local pilot ran a plane nose-first into the ground after taking off Saturday night from a small, private airstrip, authorities said.

The pilot, 58-year-old Kenneth Carpenter of 1075 Lake Drive, China Grove, suffered only minor cuts to the face, the N.C. Highway Patrol reported.

“He was very lucky,” said Atwell Fire Department Capt. John McLaughlin, estimating the plane to be a total loss.

Carpenter crashed shortly before 6:30 p.m. near Wright Road and Enochville Circle. He had just taken off in a single-engine Piper from a nearby runway, McLaughlin said.

The plane struck a tree and landed nose first — driving its propeller into the ground. Carpenter, who was conscious the whole time, was taken by ambulance to NorthEast Medical Center in Concord, McLaughlin said. NorthEast nursing supervisor Gary Sellers said at 10:30 Saturday night that Carpenter was in fair condition and still receiving treatment in the emergency room.

Though rain had fallen earlier Saturday morning, weather was clear at the time of the accident, McLaughlin said.

The Rowan County EMS and sheriff’s department also responded to the wreck. The N.C. Highway Patrol directed traffic.

The Federal Aviation Administration was to begin investigating the cause of the wreck today.