Plane Crashed En Route To Atlanta NASCAR Race

Divers retrieved the third and final body Monday from the wreckage of a Cessna 182, that crashed into a pond in Carroll County, GA Sunday morning.

WSB-2 reports divers spent over a day and a half retrieving wreckage from the accident, which occurred as pilot Brian Kearney, his wife Christa and friend Timothy Dean Miller flew to the NASCAR Kobalt Tools 500 stock car race near Atlanta.

Investigators haven't offered a possible explanation why the plane crashed en route from McCollum Field (RYY) to Tara Field (4A7), near the Atlanta Motor Speedway south of the city. The accident site lies well to the west of the aircraft's expected flight path between those two points.

NTSB investigator Luke Schiada said witness reports indicate the plane impacted the lake at a sharp angle.

"I heard that there was a person who mentioned that the aircraft, that the engine was sputtering. I also heard that there was a person who witnessed the aircraft at a steep angle as it impacted the water," he told WSB.

"We’re going to plot the actual location of the aircraft. We're also going to gather radar information on the area."

There is no record of a flight plan filed for the accident flight.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 1913M        Make/Model: C182      Description: 182, Skylane
  Date: 03/08/2009     Time: 1248

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

LOCATION
  City: CARROLLTON   State: GA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE THREE PERSONS ON BOARD
  WERE FATALLY INJURED, CARROLLTON, GA

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: KRYY 081347Z 20004KT 7SM BKN012 BKN250 12/10 A3021

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: Other

  FAA FSDO: COLLEGE PARK, GA  (SO11)              Entry date: 03/09/2009

FMI: www.faa.gov