A metro Atlanta man said a twin-engine jet he was flying was having problems with its autopilot shortly before it crashed and killed four people earlier this month in northwest Georgia, according to a preliminary incident report released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Cessna Citation disappeared from radar Feb. 8 hours before its remnants were found in a remote part of Gordon County.
The pilot, Roy Smith, 68, of Fayetteville, his son, 25-year-old Morgen Smith of Atlanta, the son’s girlfriend, 23-year-old Savannah Sims of Atlanta, and 63-year-old Raymond Sluk of Senoia were found among the wreckage, according to Gordon County Deputy Coroner Christy Nicholson.
According to Heidi Kemner, an air safety investigator for the NTSB, the jet departed from Atlanta Regional Airport-Falcon Field in Peachtree City about 9:45 a.m. and was headed for Nashville, Tennessee. It was snowing at the time, but it’s unclear if the weather was a factor in the crash.
The report revealed the plane was having issues maintaining its altitude and direction before it disappeared from radar.
An air traffic controller told the pilot to return to the height and direction they were supposed to be traveling, and the pilot said he was having problems with the autopilot. The controller asked if everything was under control, and the pilot said they were “OK now,” the report said.
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The technological problems persisted and the plane once again strayed from its elevation and direction.
The air traffic controller again asked if everything was all right, and the pilot said they were “‘playing with the autopilot’ because they were having trouble with it,” the report said.
The controller suggested turning the autopilot off and hand-flying the plane, according to the report. The pilot rose to a higher altitude, but according to the report he was never able to get out of the clouds.
The pilot later told a second air traffic controller that they were having instrumental issues on the left side of the plane and were working from instruments on the right side.
RELATED: Metro Atlanta father, son among 4 victims of Gordon County plane crash
The plane rose farther and started to make a left turn, when air traffic control suddenly lost contact with it. The controller tried to reach the plane “numerous times” but did not get a response, the report said.
The area in which the plane was found was so hilly that it was accessible only by foot, Gordon County Chief Deputy Robert Paris told AJC.com.
“The plane was discovered in one of the most remote areas of our jurisdiction,” Paris said, calling the crash site terrain treacherous. “We had to go in in four-wheel drive vehicles and ATVs and we had to walk a long way after that. It’s only accessible by foot.”
The left wing was still attached to the body of the plane, but part of the right wing had been torn off, according to the NTSB report.
“Several sections of wing skin” were found along the path of debris, the report said.
It took more than 24 hours to locate all of the victims, AJC.com previously reported.
The NTSB has not released a conclusive cause of the crash.
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