Over the years, Graham County has experienced a number of plane crashes – mostly single-engine, privately-owned aircraft, but also three military aircraft.
There are a dozen or more crash sites in and near Graham County. This was the case recently when a plane crashed just outside Graham County, in the Gipp Creek section of Cherokee County.
The plane piloted by Dwaine Leon Thompson, 63, with his wife Bobbie Lane Thompson, 57, also on-board, crashed into a mountainside shortly after taking off from the airport in Andrews, with both killed in the crash.
Tory Lynnes – who was part of a U.S. Forest Service crew that responded to the reported crash, along with Heath Emmons and John Randall – gave a detailed report of the mission.
Lynnes said they first received a call from the Graham County 911 Center around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3, of a reported downed plane. Lynnes – along with Graham County Rescue Squad members Keith Eller and Jeff Millsaps – went to the Joanna Bald area searching for the plane. There was heavy rain and dense fog at the time, limiting visibility to only a few feet.
There was some misinformation reporting that the plane had safely landed in Pennsylvania, the intended destination. Lynnes had just gotten home when it was discovered that the plane was indeed still missing. The search resumed again until around 2:30 a.m. with no results.
Around daylight, Lynnes, Emmons and Randall returned to the Joanna Bald area. The fog had lifted to about 12 feet above the ground by this time. The first point of impact the men discovered was several limbs broken out of the top of a large pine tree. Small pieces of glass and paint chips were scattered around beneath the tree.
Farther down the hill were larger pieces of the plane, leading to Emmons sighting the plane on the hillside below.
After striking several more trees, the plane had hit the ground, digging a crater knee deep and breaking the propeller off, with the plane flipping over upside down. It was readily evident that both persons had died from injuries sustained in the crash.
Normally, there is the physically-exhausting ordeal of carrying plane crash victims out of the woods, but this time, a Blackhawk helicopter was used to airlift the victims from the crash site.
A few days later, most of the plane was airlifted to the airport in Andrews by a helicopter.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, mcclungs@email.com.