Small plane crashes in Suffolk

SUFFOLK, Va. - Night fell as Virginia State troopers looked into why a single engine plane crash-landed on Deer Forest Road, Monday afternoon.

Three men were in the Mooney M20F and they all survived.

Dennis Smith watched the plane as it went across his property. He told WAVY.com, "He made a U-turn over the tree and all of a sudden he dove down toward the road. ...I heard a noise. It made a funny noise when he went around the trees."

Investigators said the pilot tried to put the aircraft down on the rural road after his engine stalled.

Suffolk spokesperson Debbie George said 68-year-old pilot James Beauchamp took off from the Suffolk Airport and flew across the state line to North Carolina with his nephew and a friend.

George said Beauchamp was on his way back to the airport when they ran into trouble. On its way down, the plane hit several trees.

Branches and limbs mangled the tip of one wing. Once on the ground, it kept moving and stopped on the shoulder with its damaged wing hanging over the road.

All three men inside the Mooney M20F survived. Nightingale flew Beauchamp to the hospital with injuries, but none as severe as they could have been given the circumstances.

"The pilot did receive minor injuries: a cut to his hand, some minor back injuries, but nothing life threatening," George explained.

His two passengers were not hurt. George said, "They literally walked away from it."

Smith said, "The good Lord was looking out for them."

Virginia State Police and a towing crew moved the plane off the road.

The NTSB will complete the investigation into the crash.