CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — Federal safety officials released their report on a plane crash that killed a man near Crossville on Friday. They said 35-year-old Vasile Ghelan's plane crashed after he started experiencing engine issues.
According to the report, Ghelan flew off from Crossville Memorial Airport at around 7:15 a.m. for his first cross-country solo flight. He was a student pilot and had logged 44 hours of flight experience, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. They said he started flight lessons around one month before the crash.
He was headed to Cleveland Regional Jetport for the second leg of the flight, around 50 miles south of Crossville's airport. The plane started climbing to around 3,700 feet before it started descending around 7:18 a.m. according to the report.
It continued descending until around 7:23 a.m., at around 3,000 feet in the sky, when it started sharply descending.
Three minutes later, Ghelan called his flight instructor — Jeff Weissert. During the call, Ghelan said the plane's engine was not operating at full power and was making around 75 knots at 1,700 rotations per minute.
Weissart said the engine normally made around 2,400 rotations per minute at around 95 knots.
"Initially, his demeanor was quite calm, and remained calm while he was talking to me," Weissert said in the report. "I helped him with troubleshooting."
The instructor said he asked Ghelan whether different instruments and parts of the plane were working. They were all in green, according to the report. During the call, Ghelan also said he did not think he could make it back to the Crossville airport.
"I asked about fuel state, magnetos on, carb heat position and the instruments were all in the green, but the engine was not making full power, and the airplane could not climb," he said in the report.
Weissert then told him to make an emergency landing in a field, but Ghelan told him there were just trees and mountains around. He also said he was not talking to air traffic controllers at the time, according to the report.
"Soon after, I heard the sound of trees and impact and the connection went dead," Weissert said in the report.
Ghelan flew three times per week and was enrolled in an online ground school which would discuss lessons before each flight, according to federal officials.
His plane, a Gulfstream American AA-5A, had last been inspected on December 11, 2020, at around 5,221 total aircraft hours.
The report says the plane first hit a tree around 50 feet tall, and pieces of angularly cut wood were found along the wreckage path. The plane then caught fire, according to the report. The engine was retrieved and will be examined more.
Cable breaks also showed signs of overload failure, according to the report.
There were clear weather conditions at the time, according to officials.
After their conversation, Weissert called 911. During that call, he said Ghelan had either crashed or landed in a field.