Knightdale doctor aboard plane that crashed in Georgia

Dr. Steven Roth, two ultrasound technicians, a nurse anesthetist and a secretary who work for the Vein Guys were aboard the Hawker Beechcraft 390/ Premier I plane along with two other people, said Dr. Stephen Davis, a plastic surgeon who works for the Vein Guys clinic in Nashville, Tenn. Other offices are Knightdale, Memphis, Tenn., Augusta, Ga., and Atlanta, Ga.

Authorities have not released the identities of the deceased.

The Knightdale office was closed Thursday, and a sign on the front of the building cited a "recent tragedy" as the reason for the closure. The other locations were also closed.

National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said fuel leaking from the plane ignited in flames Wednesday night after it hit the concrete pole with enough force to sheer off the left wing. He said investigators found pieces of the plane strewn over 100 yards.

"The wreckage was severely fragmented, and it is almost completely destroyed by fire," Sumwalt said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. "You walk up and you say to yourself, 'Where is the airplane?'"

Investigators don't yet know why the plane aborted its landing at Thomson-McDuffie Regional Airport, a small terminal with a 5,500-foot runway about 30 miles west of Augusta.

Sumwalt said investigators would interview air-traffic controllers to see if the pilots made a distress call and search for a flight-data recorder from the plane that might yield clues. He also said authorities had obtained video from a security camera at the airport but had not yet reviewed it.

Davis said Roth regularly flew to Vein Guys clinics in the region, though other doctors working for the clinic did not travel. Davis said his brother, Dr. Keith Davis, and Roth co-founded the Augusta clinic. He described Roth as "a great guy, a great doctor, devoted to patients and his family."

Investigators said two pilots were also aboard the plane in addition to the clinic employees.

Thomson-McDuffie County Sheriff Logan Marshall said two survivors were taken to hospitals. Richard Trammell was in critical condition at Georgia Regents Medical Center in Augusta, hospital spokeswoman Christen Carter said. The condition of the other survivor, and where that person was taken, is not known.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said the five dead were taken to an agency lab in Decatur for autopsies.

The crash started a brush fire in the woods behind an industrial plant near the airport. Witnesses reported power outages in the area as well.

The private jet had been flying fairly frequently from the Thomson airport during the past several months, said Keith Bounds, the airport's general manager.

"The pilots were familiar with the facility, familiar with the area and familiar with the runway," Bounds said. "And the airplane was immaculate. The pilots kept it in pristine condition."

The pilots had sent an electronic message to close out their flight plan before the jet overshot the runway — a sign that they began their landing approach without problems, Bounds said. Skies in the area were clear Wednesday night with light wind, he said.

There was no damage or other physical signs that the jet ever touched down on the runway, Bounds said. The plane crossed a five-lane state highway near Interstate 20 before it struck the utility pole about a quarter-mile from the end of the runway.

Patricia Reese and her husband live in a farmhouse near the site. She said they were watching TV on Wednesday night when they were startled by noise and a power outage.

"The lights blinked and went off, and all of a sudden we heard this noise," Reece said. "It sounded like thunder that just kept going on and on."

Reece's husband grabbed a flashlight and they headed into the pitch-dark field behind their home. They soon saw flashing lights from emergency vehicles and thick smoke pouring from the woods, she said.