By CHUCK MORRIS
ROCKWOOD, TN (WSMV) – A Knoxville man died in a single engine plane crash near the Rockwood Municipal Airport, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
The pilot of the plane was identified as Vasile Ghelan, 35, of Knoxville. The Grumman Cheetah fixed wing single engine plane left Knoxville Downtown Island Airport at 7:39 a.m. EDT on Tuesday and was last seen at 7:59 a.m. EDT, according to information on FlightAware.com.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s office said the plane was based at the Knoxville Downtown Island Airport. FAA records show the plane is registered to Gary Sumner, a certified flight instructor at Fast Track Flight Training, which is based at the airport.
The sheriff’s office said no known flight plan was filed and the reason of the crash is unknown at the time.
First responders were alerted to a possible plane crash around 7:52 a.m. CDT by Roane County 911 operators.
The Rockwood Municipal Airport is located in both Cumberland and Morgan counties. It is about three miles north of Rockwood, which owns the airport.
The FAA will conduct an investigation into the cause of the crash.
