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A Piper PA-32 Lance II crashed next to an interstate in Tennessee Monday night, killing all five on board. The pilot reported engine failure shortly before crashing in a grassy median and bursting into flames.
The Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II (C-FBWH) left Mount Sterling, Kentucky around 7:19 p.m. and was due to arrive at the John C. Tune Airport (JWN) in Nashville around 7:43 p.m., according to the Courier-Journal. The pilot reported engine failure and crashed at mile marker 202 on I-40 about 7:45 p.m., according to The Tennessean. The plane burst into flames and the Nashville Fire Department dispatched vehicles to the scene. The Nashville Police Department said the FAA was on scene and the NTSB would arrive later on Tuesday. Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Kendra Loney told The Tennessean that the plane imploded on impact, describing the crash at "catastrophic."
The pilot was heard in ATC audio telling the JWN air traffic controller his engine shut off at 1,600 feet, according to CNN.
"My engine shut off. I'm at sixteen hundred [feet]. I'm going to be landing … I don't know where," the pilot said, according to CNN.
The pilot was cleared to land at JWN but told the controller he was too far away and would not make it, according to WKRN Nashville.
"I'm too far away," the pilot said, according to WKRN. "I won't make it."
"Ok," the controller responded, according to WKRN. "See if you can glide in there, sir. Glide in, they're clearing the runway for you."
"According to some witness information, their plane was obviously in distress as it was coming over the interstate, right before it hit the ground," said Don Aaron, Metro Nashville Police spokesperson to The Tennessean. "I think he was having significant issues keeping the aircraft under control."
Video showed the plane crashing down at an angle and exploding into flames upon impact. The plane did not hit any cars or buildings on the way down. The names of the pilot and passengers have not been released at the time of publication.UPDATE - March 5The NTSB held a press conference Tuesday afternoon, revealing that the pilot overflew JWN before crashing into terrain along the interstate, right next to a Costco, according to WSMV. The five killed in the crash were Canadian citizens, including three children. The identities of the five people killed are unknown but the NTSB said it was working with the Canadian consulate to identify the passengers and pilot, including pilot credentials. "For reasons unknown, the aircraft descended and approached John C. Tune airport and passed overhead at 2,500 feet," said Aaron McCarter, an NTSB investigator, according to WSMV. "The pilot reported that he was going to pass over the airport at 2,500 feet. Very quickly thereafter, the pilot reported … a complete loss of engine power."Update - March 7The Nashville PD has released the names of the family killed in the crash. The pilot was 43-year-old Victor Dotsenko, flying with his 39-year-old wife Rimma Dotsenko and their three children, 12-year-old David, 10-year-old Adam and seven-year-old Emma. According to AP News, the family was from King Township in Canada.