Wings Reportedly Came Off The Cessna T210L

A Cessna T210L that had departed from Kissimmee, FL en route to Jackson, TN went down in Blount County, AL Saturday afternoon after the aircraft reportedly broke apart in flight.

The Gadsden Times newspaper reports that the plane went down Saturday afternoon at about 2:33 p.m. local time. All four occupants on board the aircraft were fatally injured.

Local officials said the fuselage of the airplane impacted terrain in a heavily wooded area. There was additional debris in three other sites along Highway 160 about a mile from the wreckage of the fuselage, according to the report.

Air Traffic Controllers in Birmingham reported that they had received a "Mayday" call from an aircraft near Hayden, AL, but lost contact with the airplane.

The fatally injured people on board the aircraft have been identified by Blount County Coroner John Mark Vaughn as Jillian Celeste Crenshaw, 14; Jacob Addison Crenshaw, 16; Joseph Connell Crenshaw, 45; and Jennifer Dawn Crenshaw, 43. Jacob was a sophomore at the University School of Jackson and Jillian was in the eighth grade. The family lived in Jackson, TN, and was returning from a spring break trip to Florida when the accident occurred.

People living near the accident scene report that a four-foot section of the aircraft's tail landed in a neighbor's yard across the street from their home. Additional wreckage was found by other neighbors in the woods.

The weather at the time of the accident was not reported.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov