Pilot warned he was in trouble : News : MySouthwestGA.com

Pilot warned he was in trouble

Posted: 12.28.2012 at 12:17 PM

The FOX 31 News Team covers Southwest Georgia 24/7

Moments later, authorities say both radar and radio contact were lost, and the plane crashed in the Lake Park area on Dec. 10. / File

LAKE PARK, GA (AP) -- Federal investigators say the pilot of a small plane told air traffic controllers that he was in trouble shortly before his small plane crashed in south Georgia, killing him.

A preliminary accident report Thursday from the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot radioed "I'm in trouble."

Moments later, authorities say both radar and radio contact were lost, and the plane crashed in the Lake Park area on Dec. 10. The pilot had taken off from Valdosta Regional Airport, about 10 miles northwest of the Lake Park area where it went down.

The pilot, 52-year-old businessman Rick Poppell, who was the plane's lone occupant, was killed in the crash. He owned Poppell's Produce in Jesup.

The preliminary report does not indicate what caused the crash, and the investigation is continuing.

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		Search is on for plane wreckage in South Georgia

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