GOLD HILL — The pilot of a plane who died this morning in a crash near Gold Hill Airport was a resident of the Gold Hill airpark, an airport spokesperson said.
A man who answered the phone at Gold Hill Airport said a four-seater Socata Trinidad piloted by a resident of the airpark left about 4 a.m. heading to Lancaster, Penn.
The plane crashed just minutes later about a mile from the runway, authorities said.
Authorities said a motorist on Old Beatty Ford Road, which travels just north of the runway near U.S. 52, saw the plane pass overhead about 4:20 a.m.
The plane then crashed into the woods, officials said. The driver told dispatchers he didn’t hear anything, but saw a plume of black smoke and thought the plane had gone down.
Gold Hill Fire was called to the scene, along with Liberty Fire Department, Rowan Rescue Squad and Rockwell Rural.
Firefighters started a grid search and found the wreckage a quarter to a half mile off the road, north of Old Beatty Ford Road.
They found the wreckage shortly before 6 a.m.
Frank Thomason, emergency services director, described it as a “very heavily wooded area,” where the plane was found.
The plane caught fire on impact, Thomason said.
“It was completely destroyed.”
Authorities have not released the pilot’s identity. The body was taken to Rowan Regional Medical Center.
The man at the airport, who asked not to be identified, said the Socata Trinidad Tobago belongs to a resident of the airpark, a runway surrounded by residences.
A pilot filed a flight plan before taking off, he said.
The airport is an airpark, a runaway surrounded by residences.
Officials notified the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, which will investigate the crash.