Airplane Removed from Georgia Crash Site

Feb. 22 -- The private airplane forced to make an emergency landing in Phenix City on Tuesday was removed from the crash site off Riverchase Drive on Wednesday afternoon by authorities with the National Transportation Safety Board.

The pilot, meanwhile, has been transferred to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Two massive yellow loops attached to a crane lifted the plane around 3:30 p.m. Wed- nesday from the crash site created 24 hours earlier near a housing area off Riverchase Drive. A recovery team swung the twin-engine Piper Navajo around and placed it on a flatbed before removing the wings for highway travel.

Originally en route to Dothan, Ala., it will now be taken to Griffin, Ga., where NTSB investigators will work to determine the cause of the crash, according to a Federal Aviation Administration official.

"He did a good job, in my opinion," Chance Corbett, Russell County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency director, said of pilot Robert Dunn's emergency landing.

Dunn, 66, radioed the FAA tower at Columbus Metropolitan Airport shortly after taking off. He reported that he was experiencing mechanical problems and was going to attempt to return to the airport.

Several witnesses saw the Piper Navajo touch down near the intersection of Riverchase Drive and Airport Drive. Dunn walked away from the crash with injuries to his face and was immediately transported to The Medical Center in Columbus, where he was treated and listed in satisfactory condition. Later Tuesday night, Dunn was transported to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, a spokeswoman with The Medical Center said. As of Wednesday evening, his condition was satisfactory but guarded.

There were no other occupants on the downed plane, which is capable of carrying six people and has a range of 650 miles. It was built in 1983 and is registered to Great News Transportation Inc., 902 Brickyard Road, Phenix City. Shortly after the crash, Phenix City Police set up a perimeter around the landing site, prohibiting anyone but emergency responders from entering.

"Since yesterday, we've opened the road up," Corbett said. "We're not impeding anything. It's just people watching."

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