Update: Cessna 172 with instructor and student aboard crash during touch-and-go maneuvers

Update: 4:15 p.m. Oct. 14, 2018

Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services report that a Cessna 172 4-seater, single-engine, high wing aircraft crashed at Gwinnett County Airport just before 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018, while an instructor and a student were practicing touch and go maneuvers. It allegedly did not send out any distress signals, but appeared to experience a “hard landing.” The plane then caught fire and is considered a total loss, according to officials.

“Firefighters responded at 12:40 p.m. to multiple reports of an aircraft down at Gwinnett County Briscoe Field, 770 Airport Road NE in Lawrenceville. Several callers including the airport tower reported a single-engine plane crashed on the runway and caught fire. Witnesses reported two occupants safely exiting the plane prior to the fire,” GCFER public information officer Firefighter Justin Wilson said in a press release. “Fire crews arrived on the scene in three minutes to find a single-engine plane fully involved at the beginning of Runway 7. Runway 7 was the active runway at the time of the incident. Two occupants were outside the aircraft and a safe distance away. A fire attack hose line with foam was quickly deployed to suppress the flames and bring the fire under control. After the fire was completely extinguished, members of the Hazardous Materials Response Team checked the surrounding area for any run-off concerns and found readings to be negative.”

Wilson said one passenger was evaluated and released at the scene by paramedics and the other passenger denied any injuries.

The plane reportedly operates out of Peachtree-Dekalb Airport. It is currently still awaiting a clean-up crew for removal. The Airport Authority at Briscoe Field did close the runway during the incident, but other airport operations were not affected. The FAA and NTSB were notified of the incident and released the aircraft to the Airport Authority for removal. An inspector from the FAA is responding to evaluate the wreckage.

Initial Story

Two victims of a plane crash at Gwinnett County Airport Briscoe Field on Sunday were able to safely exit the plane, according to Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services public information officer Justin Wilson.

“There has been a confirmed plane crash at the end of the runway. Two occupants safely exited the plane and were evaluated for injuries on the scene,” Wilson said in a press release. “The plane was well involved in fire upon units arrival.”