THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 19, 1996 TAG: 9603190310
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Short : 32 lines
A small airplane missed a fog-covered runway, hit some trees and exploded after crashing on Interstate 81 early Monday, killing the pilot and backing up traffic for miles, authorities said.
James Preston Harris had waved off one effort to land his twin-engine Piper at Mountain Empire Airport adjacent to I-81 in southwest Virginia and was making a second approach when the accident occurred about 1 a.m.
Harris was the sole occupant.
Virginia State Police Sgt. David Shaver said traffic was rerouted for nearly seven hours around the site of the fiery crash until the wreckage was removed.
Harris of Saltville had dropped off passengers who had chartered the plane for a round trip to Charlotte, N.C., at Lonesome Pine Airport in Wise County. He was returning the plane to Mountain Empire Airport in Smyth County, where he was the manager, Shaver said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating the accident, Shaver said.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT AIRPLANE FATALITY by CNB