Pilot reported seeing 'moisture' before fatal plane crash in Claxton
The Michigan pilot who was killed in a single-engine plane crash in the Claxton community on April 12 reported that the plane was accumulating “moisture," shortly before he called out "Mayday" and the plane began its deadly descent.
That's among the details issued as part of the National Traffic Safety Advisory Board's preliminary investigation into the crash that killed 45-year-old James Evan Scarlett, the pilot and lone occupant of the Piper airplane.
In a reply to The Oak Ridger, an NTSB spokesperson said the preliminary report is the latest information available on the crash and that it can take 12-24 months to determine the probable cause of the crash and issue a final report.
There has been no conclusion as to the cause of the crash. The report said there was no operating certificate for Scarlett, but the NTSB spokesperson said the certificate's status is still under review.
The website Woodworking Network reported Scarlett was returning from a Wood Industry Conference in Florida. He was the CEO of Scarlett Inc., an industrial company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The NTSB report said Scarlett's spouse said he was on his way home when he departed McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, where he had refueled.
Scarlett left McGhee Tyson en route to Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids at 4:17 p.m. The report said air traffic control cleared Scarlett to climb to 10,000 feet in the plane. But during the climb, Scarlett reported the airplane was accumulating “moisture.” Shortly after, the report stated, Scarlett declared "mayday" as the plane began to descend from its altitude of 8,500 ft. The plane then made an abrupt left turn of 90 degrees, followed by a clockwise spiraling descent.
Track data on the plane was lost at 4:34 p.m. April 12, the report said. The wreckage was found over a two-mile area.
As reported earlier in The Oak Ridger, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and other people on foot found the pilot, who was dead, at 6:32 p.m. at 429 Gadsontown Lane in Powell. His body was taken to Knox County Regional Forensics Center.
"A witness reported that he was outside his residence when he heard what initially sounded like a propeller-driven airplane, but then resembled a 'car over-revving.'" the NTSB report stated. "He looked up and observedan airplane 'falling out of the sky, twirling' and descending below the clouds until he lost sight of it. Subsequently, he heard 'parts hitting the ground' nearby. He then located what was later identified as the airplane’s vertical stabilizer and rudder."
Scarlett's obituary can be found here.
The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on Twitter@ridgernewsed.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Pilot reported seeing 'moisture' before fatal plane crash in Claxton
