A Piper Cherokee Lance Broke Apart In the Air and Crashed
Jackson, MS - A Piper Cherokee Lance carrying three family members broke apart in the air and crashed in northeast Mississippi on Sunday, killing everyone on board.
Witnesses reported a thunderstorm with lightning was in the area when they heard the plane crash near New Site, about 35 miles northeast of Tupelo, Mississippi. The seven-seat plane left Andrews, NC, and was headed to Oxford, MS, when it crashed about 2 PM Sunday. The dead were pilot, his wife and their youngest daughter. The family was flying from their vacation home in the North Carolina mountains to the University of Mississippi, where their daughter was a student.
Debris was scattered over about half a mile in a wooded area. A medical helicopter eventually spotted the wreckage and guided searchers. About 125 emergency workers from five counties aided in the search.
Emergency personnel could not immediately remove the victims, and had trouble bringing equipment to the isolated site.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
