Gainesville plane crashes in Newton County

COVINGTON - A small plane crashed at the airport in Covington, and its lone occupant managed to get out of the aircraft before it was engulfed by fire.

Airport engineer Vincent Passariello said the Cessna 172 crashed Tuesday afternoon near the airport's runway.

Passariello says pilot Andy Velazco of Henry County was practicing takeoffs around 2:30 p.m. when he lost control and crashed into a ditch.

The plane was owned by Wheeler Equipment Leasing in Gainesville, and was rented from DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/6/239563