A look at plane crashes across central North Carolina this year
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Airplane crashes are considered to be a rare occurrence, however, they do happen, particularly with small aircraft.
On Friday, a small plane crashed near an airport in Siler City. Two people were on board the single-engine Piper PA-28 that crashed in a wooded area about a mile from the Siler City Municipal Airport. Two people were killed.
The crash comes just two weeks after a small plane crashed in Franklin County. The pilot was injured in the crash.
Here are some other crashes that happened this year.
On April 5, a single-engine Lancair 360 took off from Lynchburg, Virginia, with a flight plan that had it landing in Ocean Isle Beach. It crash-landed into two vehicles on US-1 in Chatham County after authorities said the plane had a mechanical failure. no injuries were reported.
On April 16, the pilot of another small plane was able to walk away after he crashed in Rocky Mount while trying to make an emergency landing.
In May, three people were injured when the Piper Warrior aircraft they were in crashed in a wooded area and caught on fire in Cumberland County. Officials have not released the cause of the crash.
At Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the most recent crash happened in May. A small plane made a crash landing after the pilot noticed an issue with its front landing gear, There were four people on the flight from Fayetteville. No injuries were reported.
In April, a UNC Air Operations medical plane crashed at RDU injuring a UNC doctor and the pilot. A preliminary investigation said the crash was caused by a failed landing.
Previous crashes at RDU:
In July 2022, a skydiving airplane with damaged landing gear was diverted to RDU and made a hard landing on one of the runways.
Before that plane landed, 23-year-old co-pilot Charles Hew Crooks fell out of the aircraft. His body landed in a Fuquay-Varina neighborhood.
Despite extensive investigating, the NTSB was never able to determine whether Crooks' fall was accidental or intentional.
In December 1994, American Eagle Flight 3379 crashed into a wooden area about four miles from RDU.
Fifteen of the 20 people onboard that airplane died.
In February 1988, all 12 people on AV Air flight 3378 died when it crashed just minutes after taking off from RDU.
In October 2019, a Piper PA-32 crashed in a wooded area off Umstead Park while approaching the RDU runway. Both people on that plane died.
In July 2000, a twin-engine plane crashed about two miles from the airport. Bad weather was blamed for causing that crash. Three people were on the plane when it went down; two of them survived.
