A well-known farming family from Lee County, North Carolina, was killed Monday afternoon, July 7, when their small aircraft crashed in a field while returning from a beach trip to Florida. Travis Buchanan, 35, Candace Buchanan, 35, and their two children, 10-year-old Aubrey Buchanan and 9-year-old Walker Buchanan, all died in the crash near Sanford, North Carolina.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to reports of a plane crash around 2 p.m. Monday in the area of Valley View Drive and Lower Moncure Road, approximately 40 miles southwest of Raleigh. The aircraft, a Cirrus SR22 single-engine plane, was found in a remote field off Lower Moncure Road. Three family members died at the scene, while the fourth was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead there.
Federal Aviation Administration records show Travis Buchanan owned the aircraft, which was based at Raleigh Executive Jetport, located several miles north of the crash site. According to flight tracking website FlightAware, the plane departed Merritt Island, Florida, around 11 a.m. Monday and was last tracked near Sanford around 1:30 p.m. The flight was expected to take approximately two and a half hours.
The Buchanan family owned and operated Buchanan Farms in Sanford, a popular local agricultural business known for its strawberries and produce. Abraham Garcia, who worked for Travis Buchanan for more than eight years, described his former employer as someone who “helped me all the time.” Garcia told reporters the family was returning from a beach vacation when the crash occurred.
Travis and Candace Buchanan had been childhood sweethearts who attended school together from kindergarten through high school in the Broadway area. The couple had been together for 16 years and built their farming operation from a single greenhouse to a business encompassing around 1,000 acres and multiple facilities. Their farm, located at 2508 Broadway Road in Sanford, included tobacco operations and a public produce stand that had become a community fixture.
Both children attended Grace Christian School in Sanford, where Aubrey was entering fifth grade and Walker was beginning fourth grade. The school posted a statement on Facebook expressing condolences to the family, writing: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of one of our Crusader Families.” The school announced it would provide grief support services for students and staff.
The Cirrus SR22 is equipped with a unique safety feature called the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS), which can deploy a parachute to lower the entire aircraft safely to the ground in emergencies. This ballistic parachute system has been activated 126 times since the aircraft’s introduction, with 107 successful deployments saving 220 lives. The SR22 has been the world’s best-selling general aviation aircraft every year since 2003, with over 8,000 units delivered.
The crash site’s remote location, well off the roadway, created challenges for first responders attempting to reach the wreckage. Sky 5 footage from around 2:30 p.m. Monday showed the aircraft appeared to be completely destroyed. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.
An NTSB investigator was scheduled to arrive at the scene Tuesday to begin examining the wreckage. The aircraft will ultimately be recovered and taken to a facility for further evaluation. Lee County law enforcement is providing security at the crash site during the investigation.
The Cirrus SR22 involved in the crash was specifically identified as an SR22T model, the turbocharged version of the aircraft. These planes feature a 315-horsepower engine and can seat four or five people depending on the configuration. The aircraft is constructed from composite materials and includes advanced avionics systems and safety features.
Buchanan Farms had become a cornerstone of the local agricultural community since the couple began farming operations about five years ago. Their business expanded from growing tobacco to include strawberries and other produce, with Travis noting in a 2021 interview that “farming has always been my passion and our farm seems to grow a little bit every year.”
The couple’s farming journey began when Travis worked as a teenager for his aunt and uncle on their farm and other local agricultural operations. After high school graduation in 2007, he started his own farming business by borrowing equipment from his uncle and gradually purchasing his own machinery as the operation grew.
Community members and customers of Buchanan Farms expressed shock and grief over the loss. The farm’s Facebook page, which has over 5,600 followers, had regularly featured updates about seasonal produce availability and farm activities. The family was known for their commitment to keeping farmland in agricultural use despite increasing residential development in the area.
