A small private plane tried to dodge a turtle on a North Carolina runway before crashing into a wooded area earlier this month, killing the pilot and a passenger on board, officials said.
The pilot of the Universal Stinson 108 was attempting to touch down at Sugar Valley Airport just before noon on June 3 when a communications operator advised that the shelled reptile was on the runway, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report released Friday.
The pilot initially landed the plane about halfway down the 2,424-foot runway, then lifted the right main wheel and advanced the throttle to take off again in an attempt to avoid the terrapin, the report said.
The operator told officials she lost sight of the aircraft shortly before it crashed into a heavily wooded area roughly 255 feet past the runway and burst into flames in Mocksville, about 60 miles north of Charlotte.
The plane was found wedged between several trees and largely intact, except for a few pieces of fabric discovered in a nearby stream, officials said.
A man cutting grass near the end of the runway also witnessed the pilot lift the wheel to spare the turtle, then saw the plane’s wings rocking as it took off again — before losing sight of the aircraft and later hearing a loud crash followed by billowing smoke.
A second passenger was seriously injured in the crash.
The victims’ identities have not been released.
The wreckage and engine were preserved after the crash for further examination.
The deadly incident occurred nearly two months after a rabbit was sucked into a United Airlines plane’s engine, sparking a fire and forcing an emergency landing.
Shocking footage captured flames shooting from one of the engines shortly after the Canada-bound plane departed Denver International Airport in Colorado.
The FAA reported more than 20,000 aircraft wildlife strikes in 2024 alone — most of them birds.
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