A plane crash in Northeast Georgia Wednesday morning killed a pilot from Florida. 71-year-old Michael J. Collins of Islamorada died when his plane went down in heavy fog and crashed on the shores of Lake Nottely in Union County, reports North Georgia News.
Collins had flown into the Blairsville Municipal Airport from Florida the day before. He had just taken off for his return trip shortly after 8 a.m. on October 13 when the crash occurred about two miles north of the airport, according to the Union County Sheriff’s Office.
Multiple witnesses reported hearing the crash. One man told authorities he heard the plane’s engine sputtering before it crashed less than twenty minutes after takeoff.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
