Updated: Plane slams into house; 2 killed.
A Cessna 310J similar to the one involved in the accident. (Photo by AHunt. Public Domain)
Imagine that you are at your house, quietly going about your day, when a plane bursts in through the garage door, explodes, and sets your cars and house on fire. That is exactly what happened last Friday (October 30, 2009) in Lawrenceville, Georgia (Gwinnett County) at 1:11 PM EDT. A 1965 Cessna 310J (registration N308J) twin-engine aircraft, piloted by James Wardlaw, crashed through the garage door of a residence, impacted the cars inside, and immediately exploded, killing the pilot and Judith Kirchner, who was in the house’s first floor when the accident happened. The woman’s husband was upstairs and managed to safely exit the residence, although he had to be restrained by neighbors so he would not go back in the house and attempt to get his wife when he realized she did not come out.
The Cessna 310 was on a flight to Upper Cumberland Regional Airport (SRB) in Sparta, Tennessee from a nearby airport and its last known radar contact was reportedly at 2,800 feet above sea level. According to National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) investigators, the aircraft was in a steep turn and possibly attempting to return to Gwinnett County Airport-Briscoe Field (LZU), from where it had just departed, when the crash happened. The aircraft approached the house from the north and the departing airport was 4 miles to the south. A tree to the north of the house was clipped, but another home was spared from the accident as the plane missed it by merely 15 feet. There were no radio communications by the pilot indicating something had gone wrong beforehand. The aircraft was apparently traveling at 200 knots (nautical miles per hour) when the plane crashed through the house.
Clouds at the time of the accident were overcast and the flight was being conducted under an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan. Neighbors said it was foggy at the time of the accident and that they could hear the engine before the crash. Wardlaw was headed to Tennessee to see his 6 children (other reports state grandchildren).
The Cessna 310J is registered to KM Aviation in Meridan, Idaho. The house was at the 2300 block of Walker Dr.
You can now keep track of all Velozia Air’s posts on Twitter. Follow us on twitter @velozia.
Related Post:
- Cessna 320 crash kills father, daughters.
- Cessna 310/172 collide off Long Beach.
- A look at a Cessna 301R crash in Florida.
Popularity: 19% [?]
