3 children among the 5 dead in small plane crash near Nashville highway

Three children were among five Canadian citizens who died when his small plane crashed near Nashville, Tennessee, authorities said Tuesday.

The exact ages, names and sexes of the five victims aboard the flight from Ontario were not immediately available, National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator Aaron McCarter told reporters in Nashville.

The single-engine plane fell about 60 feet from the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40, near the Nashville suburb of Charlotte Park, shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, authorities said.

The plane had flown over John C. Tune Airport at 2,500 feet and left briefly, and was returning to the airport when it lost power, McCarter said.

“For unknown reasons, the aircraft descended and approached John C. Tune Airport and passed overhead at 2,500 feet,” McCarter said. “The pilot reported that he was going to pass over the airport at 2,500 feet. Very quickly thereafter, the pilot reported a catastrophic loss of engine power, a complete loss of power.”

The plane crashed about 3 kilometers from the airport.

“We’re still trying to determine why he decided to fly over the airport at 2,500 feet. I don’t know yet,” McCarter said. “We are at the beginning of this investigation. All of this will come to light in the coming days.”

The pilot seemed calm as he told air traffic controllers that his craft was descending rapidly.

“I’m declaring an emergency,” he said, according to a recording on LiveATC.net. “My engine died.”

Runway 2 at John C. Tune Airport was cleared for the craft in distress, but the pilot said he had already descended to 1,600 feet and doubted he would reach the airport: “I’m going to land; I don’t know where.”

“I got it [the airport] “In plain sight,” he continued. “I’m too far away; I won’t make it.”

The controllers, increasingly concerned, told the pilot not to give up on reaching the airport.

“Keep flying that plane!” said the tower. “If you can glide there, they’re clearing the runway for you!”

The plane came from Ontario and made stops in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Mount Sterling, Kentucky, authorities said.

It had been cruising at about 10,500 feet for much of the trip, reporting no problems, McCarter said. It could take up to a year for the NTSB’s final report to identify a possible cause of Monday’s crash.