Second Accident In Two Days In Area

For the second time in two days, citizens near the border of North Carolina and Virginia were rattled this weekend by a fatal plane crash. A pilot flying a homebuilt Vans RV-4 was killed Sunday afternoon, when his plane went down near Elkin Municipal Airport (ZEF).

According to local media reports, the accident aircraft was part of a flight of three that landed at the airport at 3:00 pm Sunday afternoon. About 75 minutes later, the three aircraft departed, with each plane circling back to the airport so the pilots could wave to their friends. ZEF Director Sandy Shore told The Mount Airy News one of the planes lost control during the maneuver, impacted the runway in a nose-down attitude, then caught fire after striking an embankment.

The pilot was identified Sunday night as Lawrence Darrell Proctor, 64. The other two aircraft landed safely.

On Monday, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said Proctor was attempting a low-altitude aileron roll when he lost control, reports the Winston-Salem Journal. "I don’t know the person’s intent," said NTSB senior air-safety investigator Tim Monville.

Personnel with the safety board were on the scene quickly, having just finished their on-site investigations of a second accident scene 25 miles away... the Friday downing of a King Air C90A near Mount Airy, NC. As ANN reported, that crash claimed the lives of six people; investigators say the crash occurred when the turboprop broke off its initial approach to land at the airport, in low visibility conditions.

Weather conditions were reportedly clear and calm at Elkin on Sunday. The accident was the first fatality in the airport's history.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 580RG        Make/Model: RV4       Description: RV-4
  Date: 02/03/2008     Time: 2117

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: ELKIN   State: NC   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED ON THE RUNWAY UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE ONE PERSON
  ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED, ELKIN, NC

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   1
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: KUKF 032121Z AUTO 07003KT 10SM CLR 15

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: GREENSBORO, NC  (SO05)                Entry date: 02/04/2008

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.elkinairport.com/