GA- Covington Plane crashes into General Mills plant, Apr 2022

[IceIce9]

Plane crash at General Mills plant triggers huge explosion in Covington, Georgia - Fox3 Now


An aircraft crashed about 7:05 p.m. at the Nuevo Motores plant, located about eight-tenths of a mile from the eastern edge of the runway at Covington Municipal Airport.

Details are scarce, but it is believed to have occurred shortly after the plane took off.

Multiple tractor-trailers have sustained damage in the thick cloud of smoke that has engulfed the plant.

 

[IceIce9]

COVINGTON, Ga. - The FAA said an "unidentified small plane" crashed into the General Mills plant in Covington early Thursday evening.

The crash happened around 7:05 p.m. at the plant located at 15200 Industrial Park Blvd. NE. It is about eight-tenths of a mile southeast of the eastern edge of the runway at Covington Municipal
Plane crashes at General Mills plant in Covington

 

[IceIce9]

It is being reported that there were no survivors, although authorities aren’t yet sure how many were on board.

Captain Ken Malcom with the Covington Police Department said around 6:45 p.m. a twin-engine Cessna, which investigators believed took off from the Covington Municipal Airport, appeared to start having engine trouble.

Police said the plane appeared to explode on impact. About four trailers that were parked together and believed to be mostly empty caught fire and were damaged after the crash.

"We saw what we believe is a wing and possibly a part of an engine, but again it's a lot charred metal back there right now," said Malcom.

The captain said that investigators are still not sure how many were on the flight, but that no one survived.

Police said they have not been able to identity anyone on board.

"We are working on a lead to determine who the victims were in the crash," the captain said adding that there might have only been one person onboard.

No survivors after fiery plane crash at General Mills plant in Covington, officials say

 

[IceIce9]

A twin engine Cessna can hold from 6 to 10 passengers.

 

[borndem]

Thanks for the update, @IceIce9.
Oh, my. How awful. Prayers for all.

 

[IceIce9]

Thanks for the update, @IceIce9.
Oh, my. How awful. Prayers for all.

It could have been even more tragic if the plane had crashed into the plant.

 

[vls12345]

Plane crash Georgia: Covington General Mills explosion today | 11alive.com

"According to Covington Police, they do not believe anyone on the plane survived the crash. However, no one on the ground was injured. The exact number of fatalities is still unclear, as the number and identities of those onboard the plane are still unknown."

and

"General Mills issued a statement following the incident, announcing that no employees were harmed from the crash.

"A small plane crashed near the General Mills Covington, GA manufacturing facility." The company said. "No employees were harmed and we're partnering with the FAA and local law enforcement.""

 

[vls12345]

2 dead after plane crashes in parking lot of Covington factory, police say

 

[Laughing]

Those pictures are dramatic!

 

[vls12345]

Officials still investigating fatal airplane crash in Covington

"Investigators say they are having a hard time identifying the victims because of the severity of the crash.

[snip]

Witness told investigators the plane looked to be struggling to stay in the air, leading them to believe it took off from Covington Municipal Airport.

But flight data from FlightAware shows the pilot took off from Dahlonega, which is 80 miles north of Covington.

[snip]

The 1973 plane is registered to a company based in New Mexico, but the owner of that company said they recently sold the plane. They would not say who they sold it to.

According to FlightAware, someone flew the plane from New Mexico to north Georgia on Wednesday."

 

[Laughing]

Likely, the previous owners have already told the FAA who the new owners are....

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[MajorHoople]

Dated - April 22, 2022

Covington GA plane crash happened during touch and go landings | 11alive.com

"Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday a plane crash on Thursday at a General Mills plant in Covington happened as a pilot was practicing "touch and go" landings.

There were no survivors in the crash. Police in Covington have said at least two people were on board, and on Friday the NTSB confirmed one passenger and one pilot were killed.

The identities of the people aboard have not yet been released."

 

[MajorHoople]

Lawrenceville man ID'd as victim in Covington plane crash

Covington Police say they have identified a student pilot who died when the airplane he was flying crashed and burned on impact April 21 near a food production plant.

www.covnews.com

"Covington Police say they have identified a student pilot who died when the airplane he was flying crashed and burned on impact April 21 near a food production plant.

Edward Rodriguez, 33, of Lawrenceville, and a passenger who was training him to fly both died on impact when the Cessna 340 airplane they were traveling in crashed into parked tractor-trailers and exploded on impact about 300 yards from the General Mills plant in northeast Covington.

Rodriguez was identified from dental records, while GBI investigators are still working to identify the passenger, said Capt. Mark Jones of the Covington Police Department."

 

[Laughing]

Wonder what license he held? A single engine, much simpler & less pricey plane is used for initial instruction.

The Cessna 340 is a pressurized twin-engine plane. The article linked suggests the deceased is a pilot licensed for single engine aircraft working toward multi-engine certification:

CESSNA 340 SERIES For Sale - Used & New 1 - 24

We have 26 CESSNA 340 SERIES Aircraft For Sale. Search our listings for used & new airplanes updated daily from 100's of private sellers & dealers. 1 - 24

www.trade-a-plane.com

FAA records show the Cessna 340 fixed-wing, multi-engine aircraft was manufactured in 1973 and certified as airworthy in 1985.
It was owned by Nixon Enterprises Inc. of Portales, New Mexico.


the article also states

NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said April 22 the plane’s owner was receiving flight instruction on “touch-and-go landings” when the incident occurred.


imho the other deceased person is a licensed multi-engine instructor. IMHO the NTSB knows who this is.

So I do wonder what is going on here....

(My Dad is a licensed multi-engine IFR instructor. Well he was, he's 87 now & doesn't fly his own plane any more. Among my family nicknames is AutoPilot, we didn't have autopilot for a long time & I would fly the plane while my Dad switched charts & worked radios. I flew by the instruments, too short to see anything else.)

jmho ymmv lrr