Augusta, GA

NTSB releases initial report on Augusta plane crash a week ago

Published

2 years ago

May 10, 2024

NTSB releases initial report on Augusta plane crash a week ago

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The National Transportation Safety Board has released its initial report of a plane crash that killed a pilot near Daniel Field a week ago.

The report reaches no conclusion about the cause of the crash that killed Jason McKenzie – and isn’t meant to.

The first report is just a statement of facts, while the report on possible causes of the crash won’t come for a year to two years.

This new report doesn’t tell us much more than we already knew about the incident at Hillcrest Avenue at Belmount Drive.

It says the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza A36 departed Runway 5 at Daniel Field at 7:12 a.m. last Thursday, proceeded on the runway heading for about half a nautical mile, where a left turn was initiated.

The airplane continued in the left turn, at about 200 to 300 feet above the ground, for about 30 seconds and crashed into the top of mature oak trees in a residential area, severing the outboard half of the left wing.

The wing section remained lodged in a tree, about 60 feet above the ground.

The airplane continued and impacted the front yard of a residence, coming to rest upright.

There, it burst into flame at about 7:13 a.m.

READ THE REPORT:

Many are calling McKenzie a hero for avoiding deaths and injuries on the ground, even though he died in the crash.

Investigators took pieces of the airplane to a hangar elsewhere in Georgia, where they’ll put it back together and try to determine what happened.

In addition to physical evidence, investigators will be looking at flights the plane made in the 72 hours before the crash that may indicate whether anything has gone wrong.

We looked at the flight records, which show the plane had made several trips in the days before the crash, including:

To Greensboro, N.C., on April 24 and back to Daniel Field on Saturday.
To Southern Pines, N.C., and back on April 23.
To Sevierville, Tenn., and back on April 20.
To Thomson and back on April 18.

We know the Beechcraft Bonanza A36 was manufactured in 1999 and owned by WBME, a limited-liability corporation based in Warrenville, according to government records.

The plane had four cabin windows on each side, starboard rear double doors and seats for six. Two of those seats were in the cockpit and four were in the cabin – configured as two rows of two seats each, with the rows facing each other, according to photos of the plane posted online. It had a small cargo area in the rear.

Its certificate was valid until 2030.

Equipped with a three-blade propeller and a 300-horsepower engine, the model was introduced in 1968 and is still being made by the Beechcraft division of Textron – a company that has a plant in Augusta.

WBME was created in October 2023 and the plane was registered to it the next month. The previous owner was in California, so this was a new plane for the owner, though it was made 25 years ago.

The plane’s first flight under WBME ownership was in February of this year.

Beyond witness statements and video, the NTSB will scrutinize:

Recordings of any air traffic control communications.
Aircraft maintenance records.
Weather forecasts and actual weather and lighting conditions around the time of the accident.
A 72-hour background of the pilot.
Electronic devices.

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Augusta, GA

Local woman sentenced for stealing $1M using checks swiped from mail

Published

2 hours ago

February 6, 2026

Press Room

Local woman sentenced for stealing M using checks swiped from mail

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A Columbia County woman was sentenced to federal prison for using stolen and counterfeit business checks to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Dechanta Benning, 35, was sentenced to 70 months in prison, along with substantial financial penalties and five years of supervised release upon completion of any prison term, according to prosecutors.

U.S. District Court Judge Randall Hall also ordered Benning to pay a $2,500 fine and $300 in special assessments.

Benning obtained business checks stolen from the U.S. Postal Service, altered them, deposited the altered checks into the bank accounts of co-conspirators as well as her own accounts, then withdrew the money, according to prosecutors.

The money was withdrawn before the banks were able to recognize the checks as fraudulent.

Benning stole approximately $1 million through this scheme, according to prosecutors.

There were hundreds of victims.

“Financial fraud schemes like this don’t just impact banks — they devastate small businesses, families, and entire communities,” said Matthew Ploskunak of the FBI’s Augusta office.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting and defending the nation’s mail system from theft and aggressively pursuing those who would commit fraud in this district,” U.S. Attorney Margaret Heap said.

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Augusta, GA

New judge, public defender take oaths in Augusta

Published

14 hours ago

February 6, 2026

Press Room

New judge, public defender take oaths in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Kristi Goodwin Connell has been sworn in as the new Superior Court judge of the Augusta Judicial Court by Gov. Brian Kemp.

Connell was an assistant district attorney for Columbia Judicial Court and has been practicing law in the Augusta area for 25 years.

She worked as assistant district attorney and chief assistant district attorney at the Augusta Judicial Court.

Also in the courts

Katherine “Kate” Mason, a longtime public defender and former statewide leader with the Georgia Public Defender Council was honored at a retirement celebration Thursday.

The event also included the swearing-in of Lee Prescott as circuit public defender of the Augusta Judicial Circuit.

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Augusta, GA

Ossoff seeks update on child care programs at Augusta VA

Published

1 day ago

February 5, 2026

Press Room

Ossoff seeks update on child care programs at Augusta VA

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is aiming to implement child care programs at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta.

In 2021, Congress passed the Johnny Isakson and David P. Row Act, which mandated that each VA Medical Center implement a child care assistance program by Jan. 4, 2026.

Now, Sen. Ossoff says he is seeking updates on the program at the Augusta VA Medical Center.

“This program will help Georgia veterans access VA medical care without having to find child care during their appointments. With the deadline for implementation having now passed, I am interested in learning what your facility has done to support this effort,” Ossoff wrote to Augusta VAMC Acting Executive Director Lovetta Ford.

The Veterans Child Care Assistance Program is a program aimed at making it easier for Georgia veterans to access health care by reducing the difficulty of finding child care during medical appointments.

A 2024 study found that more than 75% of veterans indicated that they needed child care assistance during health care appointments, with 73% reporting barriers to finding child care.

In 2024, Sen. Ossoff’s bipartisan Gold Star Children Education Act was signed into law to support the education of children after the loss of a parent who served.

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