The identities of the five people who died aboard a single-engine plane that crashed and caught fire over the weekend at North Carolina's Wright Brothers National Memorial First Flight Airport have been identified, authorities said Tuesday.
The National Park Service (NPS) identified the victim as Shashwat Ajit Adhikari, 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland. Jason Ray Campbell, 43, Southern Pines, North Carolina. Kate McAllister Neely, 39, of Southern Pines, North Carolina. Matthew Arthur Fasnacht, 44, of Marietta, Georgia. and a 6-year-old child (name not disclosed).
“The National Park Service staff at Wright Brothers National Memorial, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (Outer Banks Group) extend our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones affected by this tragedy. ,” Commissioner David Hallak said. Outer Banks Group said in a statement:
The Cirrus SR-22 plane crashed in a wooded area near an airstrip near the town of Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks around 5 p.m. Saturday.
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The Cirrus SR-22 plane crashed into a wooded area near the runway at North Carolina's Wright Brothers National Memorial First Flight Airport around 5 p.m. Saturday. (Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, File)
Officials said witnesses reported the plane was about to land at the airport when it crashed and caught fire, causing the plane to burst into flames.
Kill Devil Hills Fire Department and other local fire departments helped extinguish the fire, but there were no survivors.
There were five people on board the plane, including a 6-year-old child, when it crashed near the Wright Brothers Memorial. There were no survivors. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group, via Getty Images, File)
According to Stars and Stripes, Campbell was a decorated lieutenant colonel assigned to the U.S. Army Civil and Psychological Operations Command at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. He served on active duty for approximately 19 years, serving in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2006.
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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the crash, and the Federal Aviation Administration was also notified.
NTSB investigator Ryan Enders told reporters on Sunday: “We're here to find out what happened, why it happened and how we can prevent it from happening again.” .
The NTSB plans to release a preliminary crash report within 10 days, but a full investigation into the cause of the crash could take nine months to a year.
In 1903, the first Wright Flyer took off at Kitty Hawk, with Orville at the controls and Wilbur alongside. (Wilbur and Orville Wright, via National Park Service)
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The Wright Brothers National Memorial was built on the site where Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted “a series of experiments that three years later would lead to the world's first heavier-than-air powered controlled flight,” according to the NPS.
