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FAA: Six dead in plane crash
Wreckage from a plane crash Friday afternoon in northern Wayne County. The crash killed three people.
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HUNTINGTON — The search for answers will continue this weekend into a plane crash on a Wayne County hillside that killed six people.
Initially, three were thought dead in the crash, but the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed late Friday that two more bodies had been found amidst the wreckage, then, at nearly 11 p.m., confirmed that a sixth victim had been found.
FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said that six was the maximum occupancy of the aircraft that crashed.
The private aircraft crashed just after 1 p.m. Friday into a wooded area within miles of Tri-State Airport. Investigators said the plane was critically low on fuel. They did not know names of those on board or the plane’s planned destination.
Chris Smith witnessed the crash while sleigh-riding with his daughter near Plymale Branch Road. Authorities said the route is located along the approach path for inbound flights to Huntington Tri-State Airport. He has watched many planes fly overhead, but he knew something was wrong Friday.
“It was flying way too low,” he said. “It was flying so low I could have thrown a rock up and hit the bottom of the plane.”
The FAA identified the plane as a twin-engine Piper Seneca PA-34-200T. It was registered to Wesvin Inc., by way of its agent Yacht Registry Ltd. of Wilmington, Del. The registry company would not disclose information about Wesvin and no telephone listing was found.
Salac and fellow FAA representative Jim Peters said the pilot was flying visually, without instruments. That means the pilot did not file a flight plan. The lack of an itinerary did not violate federal law, but it leaves investigators with no information about the flight’s origin or destination.
“We will have to go to another source,” Peters said. “I don’t know his identity, and the family has got to be notified first. So you would have to find somebody who knew what his or her plans were (Friday). Then go from there.”
The plane was built in 1975. Data from the National Transportation Safety Board show no history of prior accidents.
Salac said the pilot declared Mayday because of low fuel aboard the aircraft. Air traffic control received the distress call and asked if the pilot could use his instruments. He answered in the affirmative, and air traffic control tracked the plane and provided assistance for a few minutes. Moments later, the pilot indicated the plane was no longer instrument capable and communication was lost.
Airport Director Jerry Brienza said the plane circled the area a couple times. At some point the pilot made a second alert saying the plane was extremely low on fuel.
One witness, Phillip Harris, said the plane was on the way to land at the Ashland airport. He said there were three bodies, two males and one female. Salac could not confirm those reports, but later did confirm the five deaths.
“We don’t get into the that (the identification of victims),” she said. “We leave that to the local authorities or the (National Transportation Safety Board).”
The NTSB is expected to conduct a press conference sometime today on the crash.
Very few details are known about the plane’s owner — Wesvin Inc. The address provided to the FAA and the Delaware Secretary of State’s Office matched that of Yacht Registry Ltd.
Karen Craner, an administrative assistant for Yacht Registry, said her company handles Wesvin’s registry needs. Her company had not been contacted by investigators as of Friday afternoon.
Volunteer firefighters from Lavalette, Ceredo, Kenova and Wayne responded, along with the England Hill Volunteer Fire Department in Kentucky. West Virginia State Police and Wayne County Sheriff’s Office also are on the scene.
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