NTSB: 'Severe turbulence' caused plane crash in south Georgia

<p>A plane crash in south Georgia that killed two Tennessee pilots was caused by "severe turbulence," according to the National Transportation Safety Board.</p><p>The crash last March killed Curtis Selle, 39, of Columbia, Tenn., and Richard Fernett, 60, of Waverly, Tenn. The two were flying from the Maury County Airport to Titusville, Fla., to pick up an employee of Haulers Insurance and his family.</p><p>According to NTSB, a "mayday" distress call was made to Jacksonville, Fla. Then, "within several seconds, the airplane accelerated" from about 200 mph to 345 mph, and fell from 27,000 to 16,500 feet.</p><p>After disappearing from radar, the plane's wreckage was found in shallow water in Arabia Bay, about 15 miles northwest of Homerville, Ga.</p><p>The pilot was probably unaware of the rough weather because he "did not obtain a weather briefing before the flight departed," the NTSB reported stated.</p><p>The plane's tail section, tail cone and components of the left and right wings were sent to the NTSB's material lab in Washington for fracture analysis.</p><p>The crash also prompted the plane's manufacturer to call for mandatory inspections and replacement of damaged rudder tips, which hold a plane's directional equipment in place.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2866630)</p>