Pilot killed in small plane crash in Virginia identified as local Army veteran

Authorities in Virginia identified a local Army veteran as the pilot and sole occupant of a fatal plane crash in Fauquier County over the weekend. 

Virginia State Police said Simmie Adams, 62, of Bealeton, Virginia, was piloting a 1975 Beechcraft plane and was in the processing of landing at the nearby Warrenton-Fauquier airport at around 4 p.m. Sunday when the aircraft collided with several trees, causing it to crash into a remote area, FOX 5 Washington, D.C. reported. He was an Army veteran of 21 years.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the crashed aircraft was a single engine Beech C23 plane, according to WTOP. 

Authorities said the plane was ultimately found at the intersection of Midland and Ebenezer Church Roads, about three-quarters of a mile southeast of the airport. Upon crashing, the plane quickly caught fire and was swiftly engulfed in flames. Adams died at the scene, officials said.

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Photos taken at the scene of the scratch show the white and green plane in separate pieces. The tail was mostly intact, except for sizable indentations and apparent burn marks covering the middle and front sections.

Crime scene investigation tape was wrapped around the wooden area where the plane landed, just adjacent to an open field.

The Warrenton-Fauquier Airport is located just north of Culpeper and Fredericksburg, and just south of Warrenton and Manassas. 

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The NTSB is investigating the cause of the crash and did not say the origin of the plane or if the Warrenton-Fauquier Airport was its intended destination.

Chad Casto, CEO of DarkStar Intelligence, told FOX 5 that he worked with Adams and that his death hit home for his team. 

"He lived a life of service. Non-commissioned officer working with special operations," Casto said. "Then he went into the adult-learning realm, as well as coaching trying to help people get better, both in their personal lives and professionally."

According to a LinkedIn account apparently belonging to Adams, he was issued a private pilot license with Instrument Rating in Sept. 2018.

Officials said no one on the ground was injured as a result of the crash.