AUGUST 27, 2015
ALABASTER, ALABAMA
A plane went down in Shelby County this evening in a fiery crash, killing one person aboard.
Calera Police Chief Sean Lemley confirmed there was one fatality in the single-engine plane crash, which occurred shortly after 7 p.m. just south of the runway at the Shelby County Airport.
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said a Cirrus SR22 aircraft crashed in a field while on approach to Shelby County Airport in Alabama at about 7 p.m. The aircraft was destroyed by fire, she said.
She said she will leave it up to local authorities to release the victim's identity, and said after that is done she will release the aircraft registration information.
The flight departed from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport and was on approach to the Shelby County Airport. The crash site – a cleared field just south of the runway – is located just behind the Central State Bank in Calera. The bank was not affected by the crash, the manager said, and no one was inside at the time of the crash.
Witness Max Brown, who drove up to the crash shortly after it occurred, said he saw black smoke and initially thought the bank was on fire.
"We got up closer and saw the fire in the woods, and I knew it was a plane,'' he said. "I jumped out of the truck and ran over as close as I could get to try to help, but by the time I got there, the fire was too hot to get close. You could clearly see the figure of a man in the flames, and all we could do was sit and watch from a distance. It was sad. I wish there was more we could've done."
Traffic became congested along Shelby County Highway 87 south of the airport after the crash, and multiple people stood near the bank and watched firefighters extinguish the flames.
Lemley said the investigation will be completely turned over to the FAA. FAA officials were not yet at the crash site at 8:45 p.m.
Date: 27-AUG-2015
Time: 19:00
Type:
Cirrus SR22
Owner/operator: Hard Times LLC
Registration: N1116C
C/n / msn: 0471
Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Shelby County Airport (KEET), Alabaster, AL -
United States of America Phase: Approach
Nature: Unknown
Departure airport: Birmingham Shuttlesworth Intl (KBHM)
Destination airport: Shelby Co (KEET)
Narrative:
The aircraft impacted open field terrain while on approach to Shelby County Airport (KEET), Alabaster, Alabama. The aircraft was partially consumed by the post-impact fire and the sole pilot onboard received fatal injuries.
Sources:
www.flightaware.com
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=179064
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/08/plane_crash_reported_in_shelby.html
http://www.abc3340.com/story/29898403/plane-crash-near-the-shelby-county-airport-in-calera
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1116C
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=1116C