A pilot walked away after their twin turboprop plane careened off the runway when landing at the Macon County Airport on Thanksgiving morning.
No one else was onboard the Beechcraft Super King Air 350 twin-turboprop. The plane sustained damage to the nose and prop engine during its landing at 10:18 a.m., according to flight tracking data.
Franklin Fire and Rescue Chief Ben Ormond said they got the call at 10:25 a.m. According to Ormond, after the 26-minute flight from DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in suburban Atlanta, the pilot said the plane “was not responsive to controls” upon touchdown.
Ormond said the plane exited the runway, went across the midfield, where the nose gear broke off, and came to a rest partially on the taxiway and in the midfield. No other planes, vehicles or people were involved.
A small amount of fuel and hydraulics leaked from the plane, but Franklin Fire and Rescue, and Squad Four contained it. The Macon County Sheriff’s Office, N.C. State Highway Patrol and airport staff also responded.
“I tell you, that was not how I planned to spend my Thanksgiving morning,” Ormond said.
Barrell King LLC, based in Jupiter, Florida, owns the plane. It was scheduled to pick up passengers at the Macon County Airport and travel to Marion, Kentucky, hours later.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were on site and will conduct a full investigation, as with all American civilian aircraft incidents.
“A single-engine Beechcraft 300 veered off the runway during landing at Macon County Airport in North Carolina around 11:20 a.m. local time on Thursday, Nov. 28. Only the pilot was on board. The FAA will investigate,” the FAA’s preliminary report states.