Published: January 05, 2009 07:08 am      

Plane crash victims identified

THE GOSHEN NEWS AND

THE KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINAL



WASHBURN, Tenn. — The victims of Saturday’s plane crash into Clinch Mountain, Tenn., have been identified by law enforcement officials.

Lowell Owens, 64, and his wife, Susan, 51, both of Warsaw, Ind., were killed when the single-engine Piper PA-28 plane they were flying crashed into the mountain, according to Grainger County Sheriff James Harville.

Harville has not release an official cause for the crash.

However, according to Federal Aviation Administration official and Harville, conditions were foggy at the time of the crash.

An FAA spokesman said that the pilot received weather briefing for visual flight rules flight from Gatlinburg, Tenn., to Warsaw, Ind. No flight plan was filed and none was required, the spokesman said.

There was no air traffic control communications during the flight, the spokesman said, adding that the wreckage will be recovered in the near future for more extensive examination.

Local authorities told the FAA they received a 911 call at about 12:20 p.m. Saturday from a person who heard a large crash, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

An Air Force search and rescue satellite picked up an emergency locator transmission around Clinch Mountain, said Civil Air Patrol Tennessee Wing emergency services director Fred Koenig.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Sheriff Harville said it took volunteers in a county rescue squad and local fire departments on four-wheelers and on foot more than three hours to locate the crash. The wreckage was found in heavy woods on the north side of the mountain. The newspaper also reported the state forestry service was attempting to cut a road through the woods in order for emergency personnel to gain access to the site.

The Civil Air Patrol has turned its investigation over to local authorities, Harville said. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are also investigating the cause of the crash.

The single-engine Piper PA-28 is owned by Bruce Jackson, Syracuse. Jackson owns Syracuse, Ind.-based Warrior Aviation.

Clinch Mountain is a 4,689-foot-tall, heavily forested mountain ridge in the Appalachian Mountains. It runs from near Blaine, Tenn., to Garden Mountain near Burke’s Garden, Va.