The National Transportation Safety Board said a single-engine plane struck trees shortly before it exploded in December at a parking lot at Lanier Islands Resort in Buford, leading to a man's death.
The NTSB released their preliminary report this week on the Dec. 21 crash. Howard Lee Joe, 60, of Dunwoody, died in that incident just after 5 p.m.
The report said the single-engine Hawker Beechcraft G36 took off from DeKalb-Peachtree Airport at about 5 p.m. and flew north toward Lake Lanier. FAA data showed the plane began to turn east while dropping altitude and groundspeed before crashing in a parking lot on Pine Cone Drive. The NTSB and FAA have not released any information on what led to the rapid drop in altitude and groundspeed.
A witness said he observed the plane flying low over the water from west to east before it entered a right bank toward a tree line along the shoreline. The plane then hit the trees, crashed in the parking lot and exploded. One other witness said they heard the plane's impact with the trees. Neither witness heard the sound of an airplane engine before the crash.
The NTSB said the airframe and cockpit both sustained severe thermal damage, while the engine sustained limited thermal damage.
Additionally, the landing gear was retracted at the time of the crash.
Investigators found about 10 gallons of fuel in the right main tank, while the plane's left main tank was consumed by fire.
The NTSB has retained the plane for further investigation.
Joe was the only person on board the plane at the time of the crash, and no one on the ground was injured. Joe's family told the NTSB the plane was based at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport and that Joe was attempting to perform a local flight in the area at the time of the crash.
