Engine oil sprayed over the windshield of a Piper single-engine aircraft April 28, blocking the view of the three men onboard who attempted to land the plane, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report released May 7.
Ernesto Antonio Arteaga-Membreno, 28, of Grayson was the flight instructor aboard the plane that went down on Browns Bridge Road at Waldrip Circle just after 5 p.m. April 28, according to Forsyth County authorities. He was found dead at the scene.
Litsu Chen, 30, of Lawrenceville and Shen Yang Wu, 25, of Duluth were both injured and transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Chen’s injuries were not life-threatening, and Wu had been released from the hospital, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Doug Rainwater reported in a news release April 30.
According to the NTSB report released last month, the plane was returning to the Gwinnett County Airport when a “loud bang from the engine” was heard.
“The flight instructor, seated in the front right seat, took control of the airplane and made two, descending orbits over the highway and prepared to land to the west,” according to the report.
Arteaga-Membreno opened the cabin door “so he could see outside and lined up on the road,” according to the report.
“The plane collided with a set of power lines prior to touching down on the highway,” according to the report. “It then struck a car, veered to the right, went off the road and down a steep embankment.”
Deputies responded to the crash at 5:12 p.m. and found the aircraft down an embankment to the north side of Browns Bridge Road. A wing was found to the south side.
The plane also struck the trunk area of a sedan traveling west on Browns Bridge Road, but neither of the vehicle’s two occupants — a male and a female — were injured, according to an April 28 press release.
A fuel fire was started by the crash but was quickly extinguished, according to Division Chief Jason Shivers of the Forsyth County Fire Department.