A small private plane involved in an accident in North Carolina crashed into a nearby wooded area earlier this month when trying to avoid a turtle on the runway, resulting in the deaths of the pilot and a passenger, officials revealed.
The pilot of the Universal Stinson 108 was in the process of landing at Sugar Valley Airport shortly before noon on June 3. During the landing, a communication operator alerted the pilot to the reptile’s presence on the runway, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board released on Friday.
Upon initially landing partway along the 2,424-foot runway, the pilot lifted the right main wheel and increased throttle in an attempt to take off again to sidestep the turtle, the report further detailed.
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.
