GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — The preliminary report released on Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board offers new information about a deadly Guilford County plane crash that happened earlier this month.
One commercial pilot died and another is being treated for serious injuries.
According to the report, a pilot took off at 11:03 a.m. on April 11 from the Greensboro Executive Airport for touch-and-go practice and landed six minutes later.
That pilot changed seats. A friend of the pilot, who is also a commercial pilot, took the seat at the controls.
They failed to take off and were taken back to the start of the runway. They then successfully took off.
Surveillance video obtained by the NTSB shows the plane gaining altitude for 30 seconds.
The aircraft stops going up and makes two abrupt left turns Over US 421 southbound.
Witnesses saw the plane losing altitude before it hit the overpass bridge. The plane burst into flames on impact.
Federal investigators did not find evidence of a catastrophic engine failure.
The investigation is ongoing. The most recent inspection of the plane was in September 2022.
The plane’s pilot, Kurtis Dale Williams, 52, of Kernersville, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
The second victim is in critical condition.
