LONOKE — The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a preliminary report into an ultralight plane crash in Lonoke County that left a 75-year-old man dead.
The Lonoke County sheriff's office says pilot George Smith died after the crash Oct. 20 east of Lonoke. According to a safety board report issued Tuesday, Smith was flying a CGS Aviation Hawk Arrow II airplane when he reported losing power as he tried to land.
The report says Smith's plane crashed into a tree. A passenger in the plane was able to climb down the tree and only suffered minor injuries. The report says Smith was able to exit the plane but fell to the ground as he tried to climb down the tree.
He later died at a local hospital.