HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — A small plane crashed in Henry County last week due to a takeoff failure, a police report indicates.
All three people who were aboard the plane survived and avoided serious injuries. It crashed just off the runway of Berry Hill Airport on Millers Mill Road on Friday.
Photos from the scene showed the aircraft had been heavily damaged and burned in a fire.
A Henry County Police report says the pilot told officers he "attempted to conduct a short takeoff" and that "as they neared the end of the runway, the plane would not rotate and they were unable to take off."
The plane's owner also told police they were attempting a short takeoff but that "when he realized the plane was not going to lift off from the runway he yelled abort twice."
The owner "stated after the second time shouting abort, (he) grabbed the controls pulling the nose up and applying the brakes to try and stop the plane" and "pulled the nose up so the plane would not roll over on impact."
The owner said he had bought the plane, a 1977 Piper Lance, only a couple weeks ago.
The Federal Aviation Administration sent an investigator to the scene. No preliminary report on the incident is yet available.