Over the weekend, a local Army veteran was identified by Virginia authorities as the sole occupant and pilot of a plane that crashed fatally in Fauquier County.
Simmie Adams, 62, of Bealeton, Virginia, was operating a 1975 Beechcraft when it crashed into a remote area on Sunday at around 4 p.m., according to Virginia State Police. The aircraft was in the process of making a landing at the nearby Warrenton-Fauquier airport. He had served 21 years in the Army.
WTOP reported that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) identified the downed aircraft as a Beech C23 single-engine aircraft.
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The plane was eventually discovered, according to the authorities, at the intersection of Ebenezer Church Road and Midland, roughly 0.5 mile southeast of the airport. The plane burst into flames as soon as it crashed and caught fire. Officials said Adams passed away at the scene.
Images captured at the impact site reveal the white and green aircraft in distinct sections. The tail was largely undamaged, though the middle and front sections had large indentations and what appeared to be burn marks.
The wooden spot where the plane touched down, next to an open field, had crime scene investigation tape wrapped around it.
Warrenton and Manassas are located just south of the Warrenton-Fauquier Airport, and Culpeper and Fredericksburg are located just north of it.
The plane’s origin and whether Warrenton-Fauquier Airport was its intended destination remain unknown while the NTSB conducts its investigation into the cause of the crash.
CEO of DarkStar Intelligence, Chad Casto, told FOX 5 that his team was affected by Adams’s passing. He worked with Adams.
“He led a devoted life. Working with special operations as a non-commissioned officer,” Casto stated. “Then he went into the adult-learning realm, as well as coaching, trying to help people get better, both in their personal lives and professionally.”
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Adams reportedly received a private pilot license with an instrument rating in September 2018, according to a LinkedIn account.
No one on the ground was hurt in the collision, according to officials.
