A Toccoa pilot died when his single-engine plane crashed in Jasper County Monday afternoon.
Millwood Ashley Dekle, 72, of Toccoa died from injuries suffered during the crash, according to officials.
Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley said he was notified by Jasper County Sheriff Donnie Pope at 4:25 p.m. Monday that a plane had crashed in the rural part of that county, killing the pilot.
No one else was aboard, according to Pope.
Shirley said Pope said the man was from Stephens County and asked for assistance related to the identity of the deceased man.
“Within an hour, we were able to provide enough information, along with items recovered from the scene by Jasper County deputies and first responders, that enabled us to positively identify the victim,” Shirley said.
Shirley said he went to the home of the victim in Stephens County and was able to make contact with the victim’s son.
The man’s son told Shirley his father had left the airport in Toccoa, where the plane was housed in a hangar, about 1:30 p.m. Monday headed to Cairo to look at purchasing some land, Shirley said.
The plane was a 1966 Cessna 172H, high-wing aircraft that has seating for four people and crashed about 3 p.m. Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.
