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UPDATED: Brentwood plane crash leaves one dead





The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Tuesday for the plane crash that killed pilot Dr. Christopher Wiltcher in Brentwood on Oct. 18.Courtesy / Brentwood Police

The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Tuesday for the plane crash that killed pilot Dr. Christopher Wiltcher in Brentwood on Oct. 18.Courtesy / Brentwood Police

Updated with part of radio transmission with air traffic control and pilot.

One person is dead after a plane crash in Brentwood on Tuesday morning.

Only the pilot was on board the single-engine Piper PA-32 that crashed around 7:30 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The pilot was Dr. Christopher Alex Wiltcher, 62.

According to a Hendersonville obituary, the engine failed in the plane. Wiltcher, an OB-GYN, had been flying since he was 15.

The crash occurred in the area of Old Smyrna Road between Jones Parkway and Edmondson Pike, according to Brentwood Police. The area was closed to traffic.

The plane had departed Springfield Robertson County Airport and was headed to Fayetteville Municipal Airport in Fayetteville, Tenn., according to the FAA.

On archived air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net, the pilot can be heard saying that his engine is running rough.

An air traffic controller gives the pilot options of airports at which he can choose to land. The pilot chooses to turn around and try to fly back to the Nashville airport. The pilot says he has two and a half hours of fuel available.

 

 

The air traffic controller tells the pilot there’s a road he can land on.

“Tell my family I love them,” the pilot says.

“Sir, you’re gonna be just fine. You just fly that airplane all the way down, and you’ll be fine,” the air traffic controller replies.

As the recording continues, another pilot tells the air traffic controller that he can see smoke coming from the area.

The Nashville Electric Service outage map shows outages in the area starting at 7:41 a.m.

The crash damaged two NES circuits, causing 1,300 customers to lose power. The outages are now down to only a few customers, but power will remain out until clearance from the FAA is given to do the repairs, according to NES.

The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA will be investigating.

This article will be updated as new information is available.

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