A preliminary report on a fatal plane crash in the Tennessee mountains has found the pilot was using visual flight rules when weather conditions required flying with instruments.
Authorities have said 41-year-old pilot David Starling, his 8-year-old son Hunter, and Starling's girlfriend, 42-year-old Kim Smith died in the crash on December 26 when the single-engine plane went down about 15 miles from the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport. All were from Bradford County, Florida.
The Knoxville News Sentinel today quoted the National Transportation Safety Board as saying the weather at the time of the crash was such that it required pilots to fly using instrument flight rules.
Starling's airman certification from the Federal Aviation Administration shows he wasn't rated to fly with instruments.
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