Pilot who died in N.C. plane crash tried to avoid a turtle on airport runway

MOCKSVILLE, N.C. — The pilot of a small plane that crashed near a North Carolina airport this month had raised a wheel after landing to avoid hitting a turtle on the runway, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report.

The pilot of the Universal Stinson 108 and a passenger were killed in the June 3 crash near Sugar Valley Airport in Mocksville, officials said. A second passenger was seriously injured in the crash.

A communications operator looking out the airport office window advised the pilot that there was a turtle on the runway, according to the report released this week. The operator reported that the pilot landed about 1,400 feet down the 2,424-foot runway, then lifted the right main wheel to avoid the turtle. The operator heard the pilot advance the throttle after raising the wheel, but the airplane left her view after that.

A man cutting the grass at the end of the runway reported seeing the pilot raise the right wheel to avoid the turtle, then the wings rocked back and forth and the plane took off again, according to the report. The man lost sight of the plane and then he heard a crash and saw smoke.

The plane crashed in a heavily forested area about 255 feet from the runway and caught fire, officials said. The plane was wedged between several trees and remained in one piece except for a few pieces of fabric found in a nearby stream. It came to rest on its left side with the left wing folded underneath the fuselage and the right wing bent toward the tail.

Preliminary reports contain facts collected on scene, but don’t speculate on probable causes, according to the NTSB’s website. Those are included in final reports, which can take one to two years to complete.