Exclusive details: Vein Mountain plane crash probe unfolds
Cessna 182A crash kills three; plane lost for hours. Rutherford County officials speak out, plus Cops & Congress analysis.
A tragic plane crash in the northern rural area of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, on the night of July 7, 2024, claimed the lives of the pilot and two skydiving instructors. The small aircraft, a Cessna 182A, went down around 9:07 PM as it flew back from Johnson County airport in Mountain City, Tennessee, to Rutherford County airport.
The pilot, Adam Plummer, of Ellenboro, and two passengers, Scott George and Charles Mather Jr., died, according to Lt. Joshua Dowdle of the N.C. State Highway Patrol.
Yesterday, August 13, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary investigation report more than a month after the incident. The crash happened in a type of airspace called Class E, where pilots must keep in touch to avoid collisions but don't have to report to air traffic control unless they’re flying at higher altitudes. The plane reportedly was following the rules for this kind of airspace, according to the NTSB, including having the right equipment to share its location and altitude.
In an exclusive comment to Cops & Congress, Rutherford County officials provided details about the local airport. Devon Raisch, the Director of Operations for the airport, said, “Rutherford County Airport is open to the public and operates under Class E airspace, which means pilots are responsible for communicating with each other to maintain safety. Our runway lights can be operated remotely by pilots, just like how drivers can access public roads. Our office is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and our main phone line is forwarded to the Airport Director after hours.”
The plane had spent the day doing skydiving runs for Skydive Mountain City LLC before attempting to return to Rutherford County airport. Due to earlier weather concerns, the pilot had planned to divert to Asheville, North Carolina, if the conditions remained bad. However, he decided to fly directly to the Rutherford County airport after checking the weather and believing it had cleared up.
According to data from the plane’s tracking system, the flight started normally, climbing to about 5,800 feet. But soon after, the plane began descending in tight, spiraling turns. The last signal from the plane was received just seconds before it crashed in a remote, hilly area east of Marion, North Carolina. The impact was severe, and the plane caught fire, burning much of the wreckage.
The investigation by the NTSB is ongoing, and the wreckage has been kept for further examination. While multiple agencies responded to the scene, NTSB said the crash is in Rutherfordton (view the map here). Rutherford County officials emphasized the importance of pilot communication and safety in this type of airspace, where they said pilots are responsible for avoiding other aircraft and ensuring safe flight operations on their own.
This is the second fatal plane crash in Rutherfordton since 1989 and the 24th plane crash this year in North Carolina, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records.
Cops & Congress commentary: The gaps in FAA Class E airspace public safety protocols
The recent tragedy near Rutherfordton, NC, raises critical questions about how we manage air safety in Class E airspace—a type of airspace where pilots are largely responsible for their communication and safety. While the rules governing Class E airspace are clear and intended to ensure safe operations, they leave a significant gap: the lack of a mandatory system for alerting authorities when an aircraft fails to reach its destination.
In the case of the July crash, this gap was tragically evident. The plane took off in good faith, with the pilot responsible for navigating through controlled airspace without the oversight of air traffic control once below certain altitudes. Unfortunately, when the aircraft didn’t arrive at Rutherford County airport as planned, no one knew it had gone missing for nearly 12 hours, as I previously reported.
This situation is unacceptable. While pilots in Class E airspace are expected to communicate with each other to maintain safety, there should be a failsafe system in place for when things go wrong. In my view, the destination airport should bear the responsibility of alerting authorities if an expected flight doesn’t arrive within a reasonable timeframe.
Had the Rutherford County airport been required by federal officials to monitor the incoming flight and report its failure to arrive, the search for the missing plane could have started much earlier, potentially altering the outcome or, at the very least, providing closure sooner for the families involved.
The FAA needs to reassess the responsibilities within Class E airspace, especially when it comes to the role of destination airports. A simple notification system—wherein the airport expects a plane and, if it doesn't arrive within a set time, alerts local authorities—could bridge the current safety gap. This change could save lives by ensuring that a plane never goes missing unnoticed.
The tragic outcome of this incident should serve as a wake-up call. It’s time for the FAA to update its regulations to include a more proactive approach to monitoring flights in Class E airspace. The responsibility should not rest solely on the pilot, especially when their safe arrival could hinge on external conditions and unforeseen challenges. In my view, it is the duty of Congress that every airport, especially those like Rutherford County operating under Class E, has a system in place to act when a plane fails to show up. It's a small but crucial step in preventing future tragedies.
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No doubt this incident is tragic, leaving the families to pick up the pieces. Flying a light plane is a calculated risk, as is driving a motor vehicle, hiking in the mountains, fly fishing in a swift running river, or almost anything done outside the confines of your lazy boy chair. The pilot made a decision to fly that evening. His passengers made a decision to go with him.
According to NTDB's preliminary report, the pilot had discussed options of leaving the plane at Johnson City, diverting to Asheville or flying through to Rutherford County.
Best practice for any trip by light aircraft is to file a flight plan. Although not mentioned in the NTSB report, had this been done, Greer approach would have called the destination airport to inquire if the aircraft had indeed landed.
Your statement that congress needs to do something about this is an overreaction in my opinion. Protocols are in place if desired. As you stated, Rutherford County has not seen a fatal airplane crash since 1989. That's 35 years. Just me thinking, that sounds like a pretty good safety record. How does that hold up against highway fatalities? Why don't we get congress to do something about highway fatalities too? Or any other activity that humans make a decision to do? Where do you want to stop , Annie Dance?