NTSB: Pilot reported problem before fatal highway crash

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — According to federal investigators, the pilot of a small plane that crashed onto a suburban Atlanta interstate earlier this month radioed air traffic controllers to say he was having trouble gaining altitude. All four on board the plane died.

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board issued Tuesday said two minutes after taking off from DeKalb Peachtree Airport on May 8, the pilot, Greg Byrd, 53, of Asheville, N.C., said, "I'm having some problem climbing here" and that "we're going down here at the intersection." That was Byrd's last transmission.

The Piper PA-32 aircraft left the airport shortly after 10 a.m. on its way to Oxford, Miss., according to FlightAware. It crashed on Interstate 285, about 2 miles away from the DeKalb airport, said Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane had arrived at the Georgia airport earlier that morning from Asheville.

A witness quoted in the report, said he was about 2,300 feet from the end of the runway when he noticed the plane was moving "extremely" slow and was only about "75-100 feet above ground level when it went over his head." The witness said the engine sounded "normal and despite the slow speed, the airplane was not wobbling left to right."

Also on the plane were Byrd's two sons, Phillip Byrd of Asheville and Christopher Byrd of Atlanta — as well as Christopher Byrd's fiancée, Jackie Kulzer of Atlanta. The two Atlanta residents had boarded the plane at DeKalb Peachtree Airport. Also killed was a family dog.

They were on their way to graduation ceremonies for Robert Byrd at the University of Mississippi when the plane went down.

Greg Byrd, served for 17 years as a deputy with the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department, said Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan. He was still an active reserve officer.

Greg Byrd received his commercial pilot's license Jan. 22, according to his Facebook page.

Emergency responders arrived at the scene about a minute after learning of the crash. There were no injuries reported on the ground.

Witnesses said they saw the plane flying very close to the ground, then crash into the interstate median. They said it "exploded" and burst into flames on impact. The plane brushed the front of a large truck just before hitting the median.

All lanes in both directions of I-285 were blocked at the scene for much of the day, immediately affecting traffic around the Atlanta metro area.

Contributing: Kate Wadington, Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times; The Associated Press.