First responders were dispatched just before 9:30 a.m. to Airport Road near Triangle North Executive Airport. The pilot of a Cirrus SR-20 was conducting touch-and-go exercises when a wind gust blew the plane off the runway as he was attempting to land.
"We get on scene, it's a small airplane. One passenger, we start to ease up a little bit, but we still are taking all the precautions we need to make sure that person's being taken care of and the scene is made secure," said Nicholas Thorpe with Franklin County Emergency Management.
The pilot escaped with only minor injuries. The aircraft sustained damage to the landing gear, a wing, and the front of the plane.
The pilot was attempting to land when a large wind gust blew the plane out of position.
"He took out a couple of lights and fixtures that are next to the runway, and he ended up in the embankment next to the runway," Thorpe said.
Crews pulled the plane out of the embankment on Tuesday afternoon and towed it away on a flatbed truck.
Thorpe said his team initially went into "assess mode."
"When we get a phone call about a plane crash, I think a lot of things go through our mind," Thorpe said. "Number of people involved, type of aircraft, where it's located. And so we're processing all that as we're getting more information from 911."
ABC11 learned that the plane is owned by McKnight Aviation. According to flight records, the Cessna was airborne for about seven minutes before the mishap occurred.
"The pilot was very skilled, was able to bring the plane into control. And unfortunately, this happened for him and caused moderate damage to his aircraft," Thorpe said.
According to flight records, the plane was last flown on Oct. 13.
The pilot's name has not been released.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will investigate the incident.
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