Plane Crash Deaths -Georgia-Cumberland Conf.

[_david]

After concluding interviews @ Southern Adventist Univeristy, there was a plane crash that killed (i've heard 5) people from teh Georgia-Cumberland Conference.

[Naomi]

So sudden and so sad. Will be praying for their families and friends.

[alisha]

United States: Plane Crash Claims Lives of Five Adventists, Including Four Administrators

December 1, 2004 Collegedale, Tennessee, United States .... [Olson Perry/ANN Staff]

Pastor Dave Cress, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Georgia-Cumberland district in the United States. [File photo]

Pastor James H. Frost, vice president for administration of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Georgia-Cumberland district in the United States. [File photo]

A small plane crash claimed the lives of three administrators and a director of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, based in Calhoun, Georgia, as well as their pilot. The crash occurred just north of Collegedale, Tennessee, on Thursday, December 2, at approximately 1:15 p.m. local time. A sixth person, the copilot escaped with minor injuries.

Killed were Pastor Dave Cress, president; Pastor Jim Frost, executive secretary and vice president for administration; Jamie Arnall, director of communication; and Pastor Clay Farwell, assistant to the president were killed, as was hired pilot and Adventist church member John Laswell. Jim Huff, a volunteer copilot and member of the Standifer Gap Seventh-day Adventist Church, survived. Media reports indicate Huff was hospitalized in Chattanooga, 15 miles from Collegedale.

The Cessna 421 went down two miles north of Collegedale, crashing in a field at Pine Hill and McDonald roads shortly after take-off.

The group was headed from meetings at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale to Knoxville, approximately 95 miles away, where they were to hold meetings with local pastors and other church officials.

"The Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America joins its offices in Georgia in mourning the loss of five of its workers in a plane crash earlier this afternoon," said Pastor Don Schneider, North American church president, in a statement. "We would encourage all people of faith to join us in praying that the families and co-workers of the victims will find comfort. At times of great tragedy, a church family can provide great strength. We pray that we can provide that strength to those most affected by this loss."

[_david]

Similar to ANN but the release from SAU and the Union

Below is the official news release from the Southern Union regarding the Georgia Cumberland Conference's plan that crashed in Collegedale earlier today.

This evening, a prayer and support group will meet at Thatcher Hall in the chapel at 7pm. Counselors and several religion professors will be available.

Thank you,

Ruthie Gray

--

Director

Marketing & University Relations

Southern Adventist University

www.southern.edu

423.236.2840

423.236.1831 (fax)

SOUTHERN UNION CONFERENCE LOSES GEORGIA-CUMBERLAND CONFERENCE ADMINISTRATORS, DIRECTOR IN PLANE CRASH

A small plane crash took the lives of three administrators and a director of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, based in Calhoun, GA, as well as their pilot, just north of Collegedale, TN, on Thursday, December 2, at approximately 1:15 p.m. A sixth person, the copilot escaped with minor injuries.

Dave Cress, president; Jim Frost, executive secretary (vice president); Jamie Arnall, director of communication; and Clay Farwell, assistant to the president were killed, as was hired pilot John Laswell. Jim Huff, volunteer copilot and member of the Standifer Gap Seventh-day Adventist Church, survived.

The Cessna 421 went down two miles north of Collegedale, crashing in a field at Pine Hill and McDonald roads shortly after take-off.

The group was headed from meetings at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale to Knoxville, where they were to hold meetings with Seventh-day Adventist pastors and other Conference presidents.

The Southern Union Conference family grieves with the family and coworkers of these men, and will release information on funeral arrangements as it becomes available.

Contact: Sheila Elwin, 404-295-4136; Olson Perry, 404-510-9417

[_david]

Plane Crashes Near Collegedale With 5 Fatalities

Adventist Leaders Perish In Cessna Crash

posted December 2, 2004

Five people died when a small plane crashed just north of Collegedale early Thursday afternoon.

Officials said those dead include four leaders of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference of Seventh Day Adventists. The group was headed from meetings at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale to Knoxville, where they were to hold meetings with Seventh-day Adventist pastors and other Conference presidents.

They were identified as Dave Cress, president; Jim Frost, executive secretary (vice president); Jamie Arnall, director of communication; and Clay Farwell, assistant to the president.

The fifth victim was the pilot, John Laswell.

A sixth person - a man in his 30s - had only minor injuries. He walked through some woods to a nearby house. He was taken by ground transport to Erlanger Medical Center and was listed in fair condition. He was the co-pilot, James Huff. His family arrived at the hospital to be with him late Thursday afternoon. He is a member of the Standifer Gap Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The crash of the twin-engine Cessna 421 was in a field at Pine Hill and McDonald roads some two or three miles north of Collegedale.

The plane broke into two large pieces and burst into flames.

A number of fire units and rescue squads sped to the scene.

Collegedale Airport officials said a plane had taken off just before the crash. It was en route to Knoxville.

The plane was registered to the Georgia Cumberland Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Calhoun, Ga.

Amy Maxwell of Hamilton County EMS said there was a report of a loud explosion at 1:17 p.m. She said Tri Community Fire Department and Hamilton County EMS rushed to the scene.

She said that due to the fire, the site remains a hazardous area and was roped off.

She said at 3 p.m. that there was still a search going on for victims of the crash. By 4 p.m., officials confirmed that five people died.

Seventh Day Adventist officials said, "The Southern Union Conference family grieves with the families and coworkers of these men, and will release information on funeral arrangements as it becomes available."

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_59379.asp

[Barbara]

This is what Staff and Faulty here at Walla Walla College recieved.

Dear WWC family,

You may have already heard or read about the tragic plane crash which took place earlier

today near Collegedale, Tenn. Five of the six on board perished in the crash. Four were

officers of the Georgia-Cumberland conference and the fifth was the pilot. The co-pilot

survived.

Of special concern for our community is that one of those lost is the brother of college church associate pastor John Cress. Please pray for the Cress family as well as the families of all who suffered loss. This certainly is a very sad time for our sister college and the

Georgia-Cumberland conference and we want them to know we share their grief.

More information is available on at gcsda.com, wrcbtv.com (local TV station), and the

Seattle Post-Intelligencer web site.

Jon Dybdahl

[Ms. Greenjeans]

I used to live in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference...I grew up there and have many happy memories of Dave Cress as Mr. Cohutta Springs. Pathfinders went there every year. What a shock! I will post also something in Townhall on this subject.

[Adventist News]

NTSB Files Preliminary

Plane Crash Report

he National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday, December 8, posted on

its Web site the following preliminary report of the Cessna 421 plane crash

that took the lives of four Georgia-Cumberland Conference leaders and an

Adventist pilot on December 2. The report is prefaced by the statement:

"This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors.

Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been

completed."

NTSB Preliminary Report: ATL05FA032

14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation

Accident occurred Thursday, Dec 02, 2004 in Apison, TN

Aircraft: Cessna 421B, registration: N421SD

Injuries: 5 Fatal, 1 Serious.

On December 2, 2004, at 1324 eastern standard time, a Cessna 421B, N421SD,

registered to Georgia Cumberland Conference of Seventh Day Adventist,

operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 business flight, collided with trees and the

ground while attempting a forced landing in the vicinity of Apison,

Tennessee. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument

flight rules flight plan was filed. The flight plan was not activated. The

airplane was destroyed and there was a post-crash fire. The commercial

pilot, and four passengers were fatally injured. The airline transport

pilot-rated passenger (ATP) reported serious injuries. The flight originated

from Collegedale Municipal Airport, Collegedale, Tennessee, on December 2,

2004, at 1318.

The ATP passenger seated in the right front cockpit seat stated the pilot

departed from runway 03. The airplane was between 200 to 300 feet on initial

takeoff climb when the right engine lost power and the airplane yawed to the

right. The pilot lowered the nose of the airplane to gain airspeed, and he

appeared to be moving the boost pump switches. The ATP passenger observed

trees to their front and thought the pilot was trying to make a forced

landing in an open field to their left. The ATP passenger thought the

airplane would skim the top of the trees and they would be able to complete

the forced landing in the open field. He then realized the airplane was

going to collide with the trees. Just before the airplane hit the trees, the

pilot feathered the right engine.* The ATP passenger observed the right

propeller going into the feather position, and the propeller came to a

complete stop. As soon as the airplane came to a stop he observed he pilot

slumped over in his seat, and then observed the airplane was on fire. He

immediately exited the airplane, and departed the crash site seeking

assistance.

A witness stated he was walking in his front yard when he heard an airplane

approaching. "The engine sounded like it was surging." The airplane

approached his home from the south going north, and was located above the

tree line. The witness observed the airplane make a left bank estimated at

20- degrees. The airplane disappeared from view behind the trees and

smoldering smoke pursued. The witness called the emergency 911 operators,

and notified them of the accident. He then observed an individual coming

from the direction of the crash site and saw a ball of fire when the

airplane exploded.

*To "feather" a dead engine means to rotate its propeller blades sideways

and lock the propellor to a stop, allowing the plane to maintain altitude or

even climb.

According to an NTSB Public Affairs spokesperson, as the investigation of

the crash continues two additional reports will be filled--a factual and a

final. Facts regarding the conditions of the crash site and the plane,

statements from witnesses and other persons involved with the incident,

pictures of the crash site, and other pertinent information discovered

during the investigation will be included in the factual report. The

spokesperson stated that it will take several months to complete this part

of the investigation. When the probable cause of the crash is determined, it

will be presented in the final report. The timeline for the entire

investigation is estimated to be a year or longer.

------------------------------------------

Thanks Adventist Review News on line...............//News and Views, a

service of Bruce Babienco

[Adventist News]

And they all died but one.

Wednesday afternoon, December 1, the airplane owned by the Georgia Cumberland Conference of Seventh-day Adventists was dispatched on a journey of mercy. A dying cancer victim was flown to a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. The plane then returned to its base in Chattanooga. The flight went flawlessly. There was no hint of any problem.

The next morning the plane left Chattanooga for Calhoun, Georgia, to pick up its precious cargo of officers of the Conference for a day of special services for members of the clergy in several areas of the State of Tennessee. The first stop was in Collegedale where fifty men were gathered to hear words of encouragement from the lips of David Cress, President of the Conference, and Jerry Frost, the Vice President. Jerry gave the opening address and chose for his biblical passage Colossians 1:13,14 ?Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son?.? Little did he know he was reading a prophecy of what was yet to come later in the day.

After lunch in the University cafeteria the group of men were driven to the Collegedale airport and departed in the Conference plane, a Cessna 421, The Golden Eagle. It was a comfortable cabin class plane that had seen many thousands of miles in the work of the church. It had recently undergone a thorough inspection and had been equipped with updated radios to make the flights safer. Dr.Gordon Beitz, President of the University, was invited to go along to the Knoxville appointment but he declined due to a heavy work load. He had flown in that plane many thousands of miles as the former President of the Conference.

The lift off was flawless. Gear up?flaps up?climb power set. Then it happened. The right engine simply quit. The plane veered to the right with the unbalanced thrust with the left engine producing full climb power. The pilot, John Lazwell, quickly brought the plane back to straight flight and prepared to feather the windmilling prop on the right engine.

They were at 300 feet altitude. But mysteriously the remaining working engine could not make the plane climb. This was unusual in that the plane was capable of climbing on one engine and the plane was well under gross weight. Many gallons of fuel had been consumed during the flight from Chattanooga to Collegedale by way of Calhoun, Georgia, and no additional fuel had been purchased at either stop. (This rules out the probability of fuel contamination). There were also two empty seats on the plane.

Since it was loosing altitude John tried to pick a pasture to crash land the plane. Unfortunately the descent was too rapid and they missed the pasture hitting a wooded area with the full force of one engine still producing climb power and with a speed of approximately 140 miles per hour.

The plane began disintegrating with the impact against the large trees. First the wings were torn off. The plane started spinning wildly and the tail was sheared off. Jim Huff, the volunteer co-pilot, saw everything imaginable flying by the cockpit window including human bodies. Ahead of his windshield loomed a very large tree, which he expected to hit him right in the face but the plane spun enough so that it got the pilot, John, apparently killing him instantly.

Moments later the flying debris and thundering noises came to rest. In the eerie silence Jim found himself outside the protective metal of the fuselage, sitting in his cockpit seat on the ground. His seat belt was broken but he was still sitting in the seat which in turn was on top of one of the largest pieces of the wreckage, a one foot square piece of metal. This was one of the largest pieces of metal remaining. The plane virtually disintegrated.

All around the plane was a ring of small fires. Jim got up and ran toward the open field, which was about a hundred feet away. He had to push aside some burning brush with his bare hand, which gave him third degree burns on that hand. He staggered into the field and into several residents who were running toward the crash site. Jim collapsed at their feet. One of them dialed 911 and the Life Force helicopter was dispatched from Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, but it was to prove to be too late.

Within five minutes the first of three thunderous explosions was heard from the crash site. Then in quick succession the other two fuel tanks blew up. The flames reached an estimated height of 150 feet. The only significant piece of wreckage was the tail section, which was approximately one hundred feet from the final resting place of the debris.

Jim suffered only a third degree burn on his hand, a broken collar bone and a six inch gash on the calf of his leg apparently from a piece of metal. He did not even hit his head on the windshield. He remembers these details well because he was not knocked unconscious and can recall every second of the impact. He was discharged from the hospital the next day. Unfortunately the five others did not make it. The dead were Dave Cress, President of the Conference; Jim Frost, Vice President; Jamie Arnall, Director of Communications; Clay Farwell, Assistant to the President and retired President of the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference; and John Laswell, contract pilot. Dave Cress graduated from Southern Adventist University in 1979 and was also a member of the Board of Trustees. Jamie Arnall graduated from Southern in 1999 as a communication major.

(This is an account of the accident as spoken by Jim Huff to Dan Clifford, manager of the aircraft, and relayed to me by Dan as best as I can remember them.)

[Adventist News]

United States: Plane Crash Claims Lives of Five Adventists, Including Three Administrators, One Director

December 2, 2004 Collegedale, Tennessee, United States .... [Olson Perry/Mark A. Kellner/ANN Staff]

[]http://news.adventist.org/data/2004/11/1101916298/fp_dave_cress.jpg[/]

Pastor Dave Cress, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Georgia-Cumberland district in the United States. [File photo]

[]http://news.adventist.org/data/2004/11/1101916298/fp_jim_frost.jpg[/]

Pastor James H. Frost, vice president for administration of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Georgia-Cumberland district in the United States. [File photo]

[]http://news.adventist.org/data/2004/11/1101916298/fp_clay_farwell.jpg[/]

Pastor Clay Farwell, assistant to the president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Georgia-Cumberland district, was a former president of the Kentucky-Tennessee district, both in the United States. [File photo]

[]http://news.adventist.org/data/2004/11/1101916298/fp_jamie_arnall.jpg[/]

Jamie Arnall, communication director of Seventh-day Adventist Church's Georgia-Cumberland district in the United States. [File photo]

[]http://news.adventist.org/data/2004/11/1101916298/fp_john_laswell.jpg[/]

A graduate of Andrews University, John Laswell served as a corporate pilot for several businesses in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area in the United States, occasionally flying for the Georgia-Cumberland district of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. [File photo]

A small plane crash took the lives of three administrators and a director of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, based in Calhoun, Georgia, as well as their pilot, just north of Collegedale, Tennessee., on Thursday, Dec. 2, at approximately 1:15 p.m. local time. The copilot of the aircraft survived.

Killed were Pastor Dave Cress, 47, president; Pastor James H. Frost, 53, vice president of administration; Jamie Arnall, 29, director of communication; and Pastor Clay Farwell, 67, assistant to the president, and hired pilot and Adventist church member John Laswell, 36. Jim Huff, 37, a volunteer copilot and member of the Standifer Gap Seventh-day Adventist Church, survived. Media reports indicate Huff was hospitalized in Chattanooga, 15 miles from Collegedale, and released the following day.

Farwell, who had been retired from the ministry and recently returned to help the Georgia-Cumberland district, was previously the youth director for the church's Southern United States' church region, as well as former president of the Kentucky-Tennessee and Indiana church districts.

Details of memorial services were announced late in the day on Dec. 3, and can be found at the Georgia-Cumberland district's Web site (see first "related site link" below).

The Cessna 421 went down approximately 1.5 miles north of Collegedale, crashing in a field at Pine Hill and McDonald roads shortly after take-off. Media reports quote an airport official as saying engine failure was the cause. However, the Atlanta, Georgia, office of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash and will make a final determination, Lauren Peduzzi, an NTSB Public Affairs Officer at the agency's headquarters, told ANN.

The group was headed from meetings at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale to Knoxville, approximately 95 miles away, where they were to hold meetings with Seventh-day Adventist pastors and other regional officials.

"The Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America joins its offices in Georgia in mourning the loss of five of its workers in a plane crash earlier this afternoon," said Pastor Don Schneider, North American church president, in a statement, Dec. 2. "We would encourage all people of faith to join us in praying that the families and co-workers of the victims will find comfort. At times of great tragedy, a church family can provide great strength. We pray that we can provide that strength to those most affected by this loss."

Approximately 29,000 members are among the weekly worshippers at the 142 Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the district. The Georgia-Cumberland Conference encompasses all of Georgia, Eastern Tennessee and Cherokee County, North Carolina.

Related Sites

Details of tragedy and memorial services This web site includes announcements from the Georgia-Cumberland Seventh-day Adventist church district in the United States, including updated information on memorial services.

Biographies of Church workers killed in crash This page offers brief biographies of the four church workers who were among the victims of the crash.

Copyright © 2004 by Adventist News Network

[Adventist News]

Crash Wittnesses, Collegedale

By Glenn Bolin

WDEF-TV News 12

Dec 2, 2004 6:54 PM EST

Marian Hardwick, 42:11 "I hear and see the airplanes everyday that is nothing unusual. but today. I heard a strange noise that was a little out of the ordinary. That I have never heard. I heard something that caught my attention. and I said what in the world was that.

Marian Hardwick a letter carrier in Collegedale explains what she heard while delivering mail on pinehill road.

Moments before a small twin engine airplane crashed in a field just a short distance from homes on her route.

42:52 "I guess I was just trying to look up to see if it was a plane. But I didn't see anything. So I just brushed it off. And then a few min later there was the sirens. And I could hear them coming from every where."

What Marian heard was a Cessna 421b like this one experiencing in some type of trouble.

Several witnesses heard noises and even saw the plane struggling.

Many more heard the crash.

Nancy Sawyer, Wittness 30:59 "I heard a big crash. Of some kind I was in the back bed room of my house and I went outside and I didn't see anything.

All that was visible at the crash site was a plume of white smoke coming from the woodline and lots of emergency equipment on the scene.

Nancy Sawyer, Wittness 31:45 "It was very loud. I realy can't describe it. I just knew it something had happened and it sounded like it was just outside my house. That's how loud it was."

In collegedale, Glenn Bolin, News 12.

[Adventist News]

Survivor of Tenn. Plane Crash Goes Home

BILL POOVEY

Associated Press

COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. - The only survivor of an airplane crash that killed four Seventh-day Adventist Church officials and the pilot was released from the hospital Friday.

A witness said the private twin-engine plane "fell out of the sky like a brick" in the crash. Only the co-pilot, Jim Huff, survived.

Huff did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Hamilton County Sheriff John Cupp said federal investigators were examining the wreckage Friday, one day after the plane crashed in woods just after takeoff from the airport in Collegedale, 15 miles northeast of Chattanooga.

The group, members of the Calhoun, Ga.-based Georgia-Cumberland Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, had been meeting at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale and was traveling to Knoxville for meetings with Seventh-day Adventist pastors and other conference presidents.

Church officials identified the victims as Dave Cress, 47, the conference's president; Jim Frost, 53, the vice president; Jamie Arnall, 29, director of communication; and Clay Farwell, 67, assistant to Cress. John Laswell, the pilot, also died.

The Rev. David Graves, a Methodist minister, said he was working in his yard when he heard a sputtering engine overhead.

"It couldn't have been more than 150 feet up. It was low. It just shocked me," he said. "It banked to the left at about a 20-degree angle and just fell out of the sky like a brick."

The plane crashed about 500 yards from Graves' home and was only smoldering at first. He called 911 and then saw Huff, who appeared to have cuts and other injuries, walking away from the wreck.

Graves said the plane exploded when Huff was about 150 yards away.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board did not immediately return calls for comment Friday.

[Adventist News]

A Survivors Statement

The following is an edited account of the Tennessee plane crash reprinted with permission of co-pilot James Huff.

On December 2, 2004, John Laswell asked me to join him on a flight from Collegedale, Tennessee, to Knoxville, then to Calhoun, Georgia, and back to Chattanooga. John asked that I arrive at the Collegedale Airport at 12:30 P.M. because the passengers were due to arrive at 1:00 P.M. The passengers arrived at the airport at approximately 1:10 P.M. We loaded a little bit of baggage and boarded the aircraft.

The aircraft was started and we taxied to runway 03 for takeoff. All of the pre-takeoff checks were satisfactory to John. John applied full power and even though I was an ATP (Airline Transport Pilot) rated passenger and not required on the flight, I ran some cross checks of the engine gauges and everything seemed normal as we began the takeoff roll. We started our takeoff roll at approximately 1:15 p.m. The takeoff roll seemed normal and uneventful and I made standard call outs to the pilot throughout the takeoff and liftoff. We established a normal climb with climb power.

Approximately 200-300 feet in the air the right engine lost power. John lowered the nose of the aircraft to maintain flying air speed and simultaneously it appeared that he was moving fuel pump switches. The airplane maintained flying speed, but we began to slightly descend in order to maintain the proper flying speed because the right engine was not yet feathered.

We descended into a grove of trees just short of a field at approximately our 11 to 12 o'clock position. Just before colliding with the trees I observed the right propeller go into feather position and stop. The aircraft collided with the trees and I stayed conscious as the aircraft broke apart. After coming to a full stop I was still in my seat which was still inside the cockpit remains. The pilot, to my left, was slumped over and appeared to be dead. There was plane wreckage and burning debris all around and I did not observe any of the other bodies anywhere.

I stood up and stepped to my right and began exiting the crash site. I came to a fence surrounding a horse pasture, jumped over the fence and ran across the pasture, and met a gentleman from a large house running toward the crash site. I told him to call 911 because there had been a plane crash, and asked him to open the gate to let me out of the pasture. He opened the gate and I proceeded to a house where there was a lady on a deck. I also told her there had been a plane crash and to call 911. I stated that I was in pain and then collapsed on the grass in the back yard.

Somewhere between when I left the horse pasture and collapsed in the back yard, which was approximately 1 1/2 - 2 minutes after I left the crash site, there were three loud explosions, apparently the remaining fuel tanks were exploding.

Next thing I remember paramedic crews arrived and began treating me. At that point I was transported to the hospital and do not know any further details about the rescue operations.

[Gregory Matthews]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released several reports on this accident, and is expected to realease one more.

You may find the latest report at:

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20041207X01930&key=1

In this report, the NTSB says:

"The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

The pilot's improper identification of a partial loss of engine power on initial takeoff climb resulting in a collision with trees and the ground. A factor was a partial failure of the left engine starter adapter due to overload."

NOTE: Earlier the NTSB had released a finding of fact document. That document was a devestating report of maintance problems with the aircraft. You can access that report at the above URL and then by clicking on: "Full Narative Available"