01-07-2025
No one hurt in aircraft crash
A few details have emerged about a reported aircraft crash at Crossville Memorial Airport over the weekend.
'No injuries and no fire,' Crossville Fire Chief Chris South said in a message to the Chronicle Monday morning.
The Saturday afternoon crash involved a small-engine experimental aircraft which South said experienced a landing gear failure as it attempted to land on the runway at about 2:15.
'The aircraft does not have a tail number due to being experimental, and the FAA and NTSB were contacted but the incident did not meet their requirements to respond,' South said.
The fire chief told the Chronicle he was not aware of the pilot's identity or flight destination.
That information is consistent from preliminary reports at the scene Saturday, when emergency responders were dispatched at about 2:15 p.m. to the airport off Sparta Hwy.
'It was not a very serious accident,' Rob Borsari, director of operations for the Tennessee Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, told the Chronicle at that time.
Borsari was among around 50 members of the auxiliary unit for a planned monthly search-and-rescue training exercise.
It was happenstance that the CAP members were on the scene.
The U.S. Air Force auxiliary unit rotates its trainings at airports throughout the state, and Saturday was coincidentally Crossville's turn to host the training operations.
'There wasn't a whole lot for us to do,' said Borsari, who served as public information officer during the incident.
'When the plane crashed, we just stopped and waited for the airport to reopen,' he added.
Johnna McCoy, airport manager, said Azure Flight Support regulations prohibit her from discussing such incidents.
Cumberland County 911 dispatched emergency responders around 2:15 p.m. to the airport off Sparta Hwy.
'Airplane ran off the road when landing,' read the dispatch report.
CAP members helped clear the aircraft off the runway, which reopened a little over an hour later.
An aircraft was seen taxiing and taking off around 3:37 p.m.
South added that crews released the aircraft to the owner and airport staff.
Gary Nelson, Chronicle senior staff writer, contributed to this report.
