FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. -- One person is dead and two others were injured after a Saturday afternoon plane crash in Forsyth County.
The crash was on Highway 369 near Browns Bridge and Waldrip roads.
Forsyth County Fire Department spokesman Jason Shivers said one adult male was killed and two other adult males were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane was a single-engine Piper PA28 that left Gwinnett County Airport at Briscoe Field at 5:11 p.m. Saturday on an instructional flight with an instructor and two students on board.
The NTSB said that shortly after take-off, air traffic control received a distress call indicating a need for an emergency landing. The pilot attempted a landing on Georgia 369/Browns Bridge Road, but while doing so, it struck a ravine and ended up in an inverted position.
One person on the plane was killed and two were hurt. A car that was traveling west on Browns Bridge was struck in the trunk area by the plane.
The car's occupants, a man and a woman, were not injured.
Witnesses told 11Alive’s Ryan Kruger, who was the first reporter on scene, they knew something was wrong with the aircraft.
“I saw the plane come over,” said Rodney Findley. “It actually circled a couple times. He started dumping fuel and his landing gear was down.”
“It sounded like it was out of gas,” Shae Findley said. “It was probably something wrong with the engine.”
“A wing of the aircraft sheared off,” said Shivers. “The wing full of fuel went off to the southern embankment of the roadway, very steep embankment, and set that embankment on fire.
“We’re very near the shores of Lake Lanier,” Shivers said. “Saturday afternoon, 369 is a busy roadway. Frankly, it’s fortunate that they only hit one vehicle on the roadway.”
