First report from investigation of Decatur County plane crash suggests weather may have been a factor

The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report following the fatal plane crash in Decatur County, Georgia, earlier in November.

The twin-engine Cessna 441 crashed off Salem Church Road, near Climax, Ga., on the morning of November 9, killing both men on board.

cessna_441The victims were Gene Odom, an attorney from Brandon, Florida and former WFLA news chopper pilot Lester Hathcox.

The plane, registered to Legal Airways, LLC, in Brandon, Florida, was supposed to arrive in Cairo from Lakeland, Florida but came down in a heavily wooded area on some hunting property.

The NTSB says the weather was overcast and foggy, but the pilot wanted to make a visual approach to the Cairo-Grady County Airport.

Radar showed the plane then traveled in circles and went off course, circling into Decatur County, before asking for help from air traffic control to do an instrument-assisted landing.

A few minutes later, the plane crashed, striking trees and catching fire.

View the NTSB preliminary report below:

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