NTSB releases report on deadly Jacksboro plane crash

JACKSBORO, Tenn. (WVLT) - After one person died in a plane crash at Campbell County Airport nearly a month ago, the National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary findings.

Deputies with the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and officials with the Campbell County Emergency Management Agency responded to a reported plane crash at around 12:50 p.m. on Aug. 29.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that a single-engine Aeronca 7AC crashed just after noon near the Campbell County Airport. The spokesperson said that only the pilot was on board. He was identified as Jim Cole, according to WVLT News partner LaFollette Press.

The NTSB report stated that a friend of Cole told investigators that he purchased the airplane the day before the accident. The friend also said it was Cole’s first flight in 20 years and he just wanted to “take it up for a flight.”

Investigators said the friend told them that the airplane took off from the runway “real early,” made a “sharp” turn to the left then went down below the tree line. At that point, the friend called the authorities.

“Flight control continuity was established to all primary flight control surfaces,” the report stated. “The nose of the airplane was crushed aft to the cockpit. The engine and avionics instruments were destroyed by impact.”

Investigators recovered wreckage for further examination, the report stated. Read the full report here:

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