One Had Just Purchased Plane

Two North Mississippi pilots and another from Tennessee were killed Thursday when their Piper Twin Comanche (file photo of type, below) went down on takeoff from John Bell Williams airport outside Raymond, MS.

"I saw the airplane just spinning and I was like, 'This ain't right. What's he doing?' And I saw it crash," said Hinds Community College student Edward Aycock, who was getting ready for flight class when he saw the plane go down.

According to Jackson's WLBT-TV, Aycock and his classmates ran to help the victims. "But when we got up there, I saw the airplane burning and I knew there wasn't a whole lot to be done," said Aycock, who is a student in the school's aviation program.

Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham Stewart identified 64 year-old Billy Frank Crumpton, who managed the New Albany airport, and 62 year-old New Albany airport board member Wesley Paul Fisher. The third victim is Jim Lofton of Jackson, Tennessee.

"It was somebody who had just purchased the aircraft and was taking it back to home base," said Hinds Community College Aviation Chairman Randy Pearcy of one of the victims.

The FAA was on the scene Thursday, and the NTSB was expected to continue the investigation Friday. While the cause of the crash has yet to be determined, flight instructors and students at Hinds who witnessed the accident told WLBT the right engine sputtered before takeoff.

"We could hear it backfired and was missing [on the runway]... If you're going to fly it, that would be something unusual, that would be something that I definitely would not want to do," said flight instructor David Hutchins, who took off on a training flight right before the Comanche went down.

Having witnessed something no one -- certain no pilot -- would ever wish to, Aycock had a piece of advice all pilots can take to heart.

"Make sure that everything before you take off is right, and make sure everything is safe to fly," the student pilot said.

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IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 7315Y        Make/Model: PA30      Description: PA-30/39 Twin Comanche, Twin Comanche CR
  Date: 12/01/2005     Time: 2125

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

LOCATION
  City: RAYMOND   State: MS   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  ACFT LOST CONTROL ON DEPARTURE, RAYMOND, MS

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   3
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   2     Fat:   2     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: METAR KHKS 012053Z 31011KT 10SM CLR 16/M04/A3011 RMK A02 SLP191

OTHER DATA

  Departed: M16 JOHN BELL WILLIA        Dep Date:    Dep. Time:     
  Destination: NEW ALBANY, MS           Flt Plan:              Wx Briefing: 
  Last Radio Cont: 
  Last Clearance: 

  FAA FSDO: JACKSON, MS  (SO07)                   Entry date: 12/02/2005

FMI: www.ntsb.gov