5 died, including a child, in a plane crash at Wright Brothers National Memorial; NTSB seeks witnesses – The Virginian-Pilot

Investigators are asking for the public's help in reconstructing the events leading up to Saturday's fatal plane crash at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills.

Five people, including a child, were on board when the single-engine Cirrus SR22 crashed into trees near the memorial's runway at 5:18 p.m. before catching fire. There were no survivors.

“We're here to figure out what happened, why it happened and how we can prevent it from happening again,” Ryan Enders, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters Sunday.

“If you saw or heard something, you have a doorbell camera that may have captured the plane or even the sounds of the plane,” the NTSB wants to hear from you, Enders said.

Witnesses reported seeing the plane approaching the runway, making a circle and then crashing into the trees on its second approach, said Michael Barber, spokesman for the National Park Service.

On Sunday afternoon, the charred remains lay on the ground in a dense wooded area next to the runway, while part of the plane could be seen high in the pine trees from the runway.

Enders referred questions about the victims' identities to the state medical examiner's office, while NPS officials said they would likely release names in the coming days.

Enders and another NTSB investigator from Washington arrived at the memorial at noon Sunday and began their on-site investigation, looking at the actions and qualifications of the pilot, the condition of the aircraft, and weather and environmental conditions. At the time of the crash, conditions were clear, visibility was about 10 miles and winds were gusting to about 16 miles per hour, according to data from the First Flight Airport weather station.

NTSB and FAA records indicate the 2023 Cirrus SR22 was owned by Pantheon Aviation LLC and had a listed home address in Franklin, North Carolina.

FlightAware.com radar shows the plane took off from Pinehurst, North Carolina, at 11:16 a.m. Saturday and landed in Ocracoke about an hour later. The plane departed Ocracoke for Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo at 4:22 p.m. It arrived at 4:44 p.m. and left Manteo at 5:10 p.m

There were no emergency calls from the plane before the crash, Enders said. The NTSB expects to issue a preliminary report on the crash within 10 days, but the full investigation, including determining the cause, will take nine months to a year.

According to the NTSB, the First Flight Airstrip has been the site of 11 aircraft crashes over the past 40 years, with the last fatal crash reported in 1984. First Flight Airport was founded in 1928 and commemorates the site where Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first powered flight on December 17, 1903.

Anyone with information about Saturday's crash is asked to email the NTSB at [email protected]

Originally published: September 29, 2024 at 1:11 p.m