By Gary Lloyd
CLAY — The National Transportation Safety Board last week released preliminary information about the Feb. 14 plane crash north of Clay near Goodner Mountain Road, in which a Mississippi couple died.
The report states that a Cessna 210L aircraft crashed in a “heavily wooded area” near Clay. Cali Campbell, 46, and Allan Campbell, 44, of Florence, Miss., were killed in the crash.
The airplane was registered to Southern Seaplane, Inc., and operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as a non-scheduled, domestic, cargo flight.
Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the area at the time and an instrument flight rules clearance had been obtained by the pilot, Allan Campbell, from air traffic control.
A small airplane crashed off Goodner Mountain Road between Trussville and Clay on Feb. 14. Pilot Allan Campbell and his wife, Cali, were confirmed dead in the crash.
file photo by Scott Buttram
The flight originated from Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Jackson, Miss., and was destined for Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. Earlier in the day Feb. 14, an individual with the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency contacted Southern Seaplane, Inc., and asked if it was able to transport specimens from Stennis International Airport in Bay St. Louis, Miss., to Birmingham and also to Jackson. While at the Jackson airport, the pilot said he would fly to Birmingham if the weather cooperated.
Preliminary air traffic control information indicates that at approximately 10:08 p.m. Feb. 14, the pilot established contact with Birmingham Approach Control. The controller provided the pilot the altimeter setting to advise having automated terminal information service “Gulf,” and advised him that Birmingham was instrument flight rules and asked him his intentions. Campbell requested IFR clearance for Runway 24. The controller asked the pilot if he was capable and qualified for IFR flight, to which he replied “affirmative.”
The controller cleared the flight to Birmingham via radar vectors and to maintain 4,000 feet. Radar data indicates the flight continued in an east-northeasterly heading, while at approximately 10:18 p.m., the controller instructed the pilot to fly heading 090 degrees and to descend to 3,000 feet, which he acknowledged.
The radar data indicated the pilot turned to the left and at about 10:20 p.m., the pilot asked the controller to say again. The controller then informed the pilot that it appeared he was in a turn to the north, and advised him to level the wings, maintain 2,800 feet, or climb to 3,000 feet. There was no reply from the pilot. The airplane was lost from radar and radio contact was lost.
The full preliminary report is available here.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
