A pilot died after his small plane plunged into Lake Hamilton in Arkansas and his daughter was injured.
Reports indicate that he had signaled distress before the accident occurred. The aircraft, identified as a Cessna 177 Cardinal, crashed on Monday, June 26, according to the Garland County Sheriff’s Office.
Emergency responders managed to rescue a female passenger from the water, who was transported to a hospital before being airlifted to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock for medical care. Unfortunately, the pilot was discovered amidst the wreckage and was pronounced dead at the scene. The two have been identified as Daniel Dale Jones, 49, and his daughter Denise Jones, 23.
Authorities confirmed that the pilot had made a request for an emergency landing at the Hot Springs Airport due to an aircraft distress situation. When the plane failed to land at the airport, 911 authorities were alerted and promptly dispatched to the location near Port Au Prince.
The ill-fated aircraft had been en route from Kentucky, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating both the plane’s final location and the cause of the distress call. Images shared on social media depicted the submerged plane about 100 feet from the shoreline. Multi-agency teams were collaborating to retrieve the aircraft from the water.
The National Transportation Safety Board has initiated an investigation into the crash.
