Pilot killed in crash during Georgia airshow identified

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- The pilot who died during a crash Saturday afternoon at an airshow near Atlanta has been identified, CBS affiliate WGCL reported.

Authorities have identified the pilot as 50-year-old Greg Connell from Trenton, South Carolina.

Authorities said a stunt plane was performing aerial acrobatics at the Good Neighbor Day Open House Airshow at the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport when it hit the ground. There was only one person aboard the plane.

According to his website, Connell has almost 30 years of flying experience, and before the crash, he was booked for a full summer of air shows across the Southeast.

DeKalb County officials told WGCL this was the first accident in 30 years of the PDK Airshow.

A spectator tweeted after the plane crash, "Stunt performer just crashed into a fireball at #pdk. No way pilot survived. Brutal."

"There was a significant post crash fire, which consumed most of the cockpit and the fuselage," said Ralph Hicks, senior investigator with the NTSB, WGCL reported.

He said the plane was a Pitts S2.

He said investigators gathered evidence and focused especially on any evidence that could be lost when they move the wreckage to a facility to further examine it.

"We'll go through the wreckage tomorrow, lay it back out and put all the parts back together and see what we can find out," he said.

"We're looking at the man, the machine and the environment," he added.

Investigators will consider everything from windy conditions to the pilot's background, flying history and medical information.

The airport is about 11 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

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• Airplane Crash