The pilot’s flight plan was for a short hop from Windsor, which is across the border from Detroit, to a nearby Canadian island. The pilot ultimately crashed at the main airport in Nashville. While the pilot’s route is unknown, Nashville is some 500 miles from Ontario, as depicted above. (Image via Google Maps)
The pilot who fatally crashed in Nashville last week never contacted air traffic control, according to a preliminary report from federal investigators. It’s still unclear why the plane, with a flight plan to stay in Canada, showed up in Tennessee, before crashing.
The initial report offers some details – like that the crash was enough to propel the Cessna’s engine some 700 feet from where it first hit. But a couple big mysteries remain:
– Might the wreckage have sat for hours by the runway at Nashville’s airport before anyone spotted it through thick early-morning fog? And:
– Why would a Canadian pilot who planned a short hop near Michigan show up 500 miles to the south, without contacting ground control?
Some questions may not be answered for months, until a final report comes out from the National Transportation Safety Board. Then again, because the pilot flew so far off course, without telling anyone, other agencies may have questions of their own.
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