Rain, fog may have played role in plane crash

CHAMBLEE - Investigators are considering whether rain and fog played any role in an airplane crash that killed four coastal Georgians returning to Savannah after a convention, authorities said.

A Gainesville man was working near the scene of Wednesday's fatal plane crash in DeKalb County and says the plane sounded like it was in trouble just before it went down.

Terry Lawler was at a class for the Atlanta based company he works for, when he heard a sound similar to a "paper shredder" overhead just before the crash and then heard the crash.

"(We heard) kind of a loud thud and immediately rescue squads were on the scene."

All four victims aboard the Piper Cherokee Six that crashed Wednesday were from Savannah, said DeKalb County Fire Department Lt. Eric Jackson.

Authorities identified C.A. ``Tony'' Griffin of Savannah, owner of C. A. Griffin Custom Homebuilder, among those on board. Others were identified as Savannah Electric employees Mark W. Neville, 43, of Richmond Hill and Rodney J. Hall, 40, of Burnside Island.

Hall and Neville worked as residential marketing representatives for Savannah Electric. The identity of the fourth victim had not been officially released.

Jackson said the plane took off from the airport at 2:15 p.m. and was headed to Savannah when it went down on an access road off Interstate 85. Griffin, a pilot who earned his license in March, owned the plane. The group was returning from a homebuilders convention in Atlanta.

``This is going to be quite a shock to the building community,'' said Fred Buck, vice president of the Savannah Homebuilders Association.

Griffin, 38, of Skidaway Island, was a former president of the association.

``In this company of 500 employees, it's much like a family. People are stunned,'' said Savannah Electric spokeswoman Swann Seiler.

``This is a tragedy for all the families involved, not just our Savannah Electric family.''

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the crash. Officials said the access road would be closed until the investigation is complete.