MARION – A student pilot, practicing touch and go maneuvers, died about 4:30 p.m. Friday when his single engine Cirrus R22 plane crashed at Williamson County Airport in Marion.
During a news conference Saturday, the deceased pilot was identified as John D. Alleman of Carbondale. His flight instructor, 64-year-old Todd Greiner of West Frankfort, was critically injured.
Doug Kimmel, airport manager, said it’s believed to be the first fatality at the airport, although there have been several accidents – the most severe about five years ago when a plane went off the south end of the airport.
Friday’s incident occurred on the airport’s north-south runway (02-20), about 500 feet north of the runway’s approach, according to Kimmel.
Alleman was pronounced dead at the scene, according to deputy coroner Scott Kinley. Williamson County Fire Protection District Chief Jeremy Norris said Greiner was extricated from the plane and then airlifted to a nearby hospital. His condition on Saturday was listed as “critical.”
Officials have not been able to determine at this time whether Greiner was providing private lessons or if he was under employment from a business and/or school. The aircraft was housed at the airport, officials confirmed.
Kimmel and Norris said fire and rescue personnel responded to the crash scene within minutes of the crash.
The cause of the crash is unknown at this time. National Transportation Safety Board representative Aaron Sauer said the plane is not equipped with a black box, adding, “There are a couple of avionics units aboard that aircraft. They did sustain some damage but we’ll go ahead and recover those and send those back to our laboratories in Washington, D.C.”
The data on those units would include flight path, air speeds, altitude and “things of that nature,” according to Sauer. He said the investigation will include “the man, machine and environment.” Those details would include the experience of the pilot and certified instructor, maintenance records and weather conditions. Sauer said weather conditions on Friday were “fairly good.” He added there was no reported problem from the cockpit prior to the crash.
In addition to the NTSB, officials from the FFA, Cirrus and Continental Motors – manufacturers of the engine – are all involved in the investigation, he added. Sauer said he expects a preliminary report within 10 to 14 days, which will be available on the agency’s website. A final report is not expected until six months up to a year.
The north-south runway remained closed Saturday, although the east-west runway was open to air traffic, according to Kimmel.
