ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A plane crashed, killing the pilot inside, shortly after 4 a.m. Monday, officials said.
According to a spokesman for the Gold Hill homeowners association, the pilot lived in the neighborhood. Emergency workers who responded to the crash have not released the pilot’s name, however.
In a news conference Monday morning, investigators said a small, single-engine plane crashed after taking off from the Gold Hill Airpark.
The plane plowed into a wooded area about a quarter-mile off of Old Beatty Ford Road, investigators said.
A driver called 911 after seeing a plume of smoke in a wooded area off the road.
The 911 caller, Greg Morgan, said he had hoped for a different outcome.
"I was just hoping they would be alive and make it through it," he said.
Neighbors said they also heard the plane take off.
“I heard the roar of the plane, and then I heard a ‘boom’ sound, but I didn’t pay it much attention,” said Mickey Chamberlin, who lives in the neighborhood.
The airpark is owned and operated by the Gold Hill neighborhood.
Emergency workers said late Monday that the pilot may have been headed to Germany.
NTSB officials were slated to arrive on Tuesday. It could take months before they determine a cause.
WSOC
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