THOMASTON, Ga. – A historic World War II-era aircraft made an emergency landing on a Georgia highway south of Thomaston on Friday after experiencing mechanical problems during a cross-country flight. 

Upson County emergency landing

What we know:

A vintage Vultee BT-13A Valiant aircraft landed on Highway 19 south near John B. Gordon Road just after 1 p.m. Friday, according to the Upson County Sheriff’s Office. The plane was traveling from Punta Gorda, Florida to a vintage airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin when mechanical problems forced it down approximately 5 1/2 miles south of Thomaston. 

There were no injuries reported on the scene. Deputies quickly pushed the aircraft out of the roadway, and an Atlanta air recovery crew later used a crane to load it onto a trailer for transport to a Taylor County airport for repairs. 

Vintage aircraft investigation

What we don’t know:

Officials have not yet confirmed the exact nature of the mechanical failure that forced the pilot to land on the busy highway. The sheriff’s office has also not released the identities or total number of occupants who were inside the plane during the emergency landing. 

Historic wartime trainer

The backstory:

The Vultee BT-13A Valiant served as a vital bridge to the skies for thousands of American military pilots during World War II. Wartime flight schools relied heavily on the all-metal monoplane to teach cadets complex maneuvers, navigation and instrument flying. 

Cadets transitioned to this heavier, more powerful plane after completing simple primary training in fabric-and-wood biplanes. Powered by a 450-horsepower Pratt & Whitney radial engine, its intense cockpit vibrations earned it the famous nickname, the “Vultee Vibrator.” 

Valiant aviation data

By the numbers:

• 11,538: The total number of Valiant aircraft produced across all variants during World War II. 
• 7,397: The exact number of specific BT-13A models built before production ended in 1944. 
• 40: The estimated number of airworthy BT-13A trainers that still remain in flying condition. 

Air conditioning is a necessity for many Georgians during the summer, but new data suggests thousands of households across the state are still living without it.

A new analysis by Hard Rock Bet, using U.S. Census Bureau data, estimates that 36,333 occupied households in Georgia do not have air conditioning.

While that may sound high, Georgia actually ranks among the states with the best access to air conditioning, placing No. 8 nationally for household AC coverage.

Here’s what else to know.

Order your summer essentials on Amazon

Which Georgia counties have the most homes without air conditioning?

According to the analysis, Fulton County has the largest estimated number of households without air conditioning, with 3,657 homes.

The counties with the highest estimated number of households without AC are:

• Fulton County: 3,657
• DeKalb County: 1,999
• Cobb County: 1,762
• Gwinnett County: 1,291
• Chatham County: 1,189

Which counties have the highest percentage of homes without AC?

Among Georgia counties with more than 100,000 occupied households, Hall County had the highest estimated share of homes without air conditioning.

The highest percentages were:

• Hall County: 1.3%
• Muscogee County: 1.1%
• Bibb County: 1.1%
• Chatham County: 1.0%
• Richmond County: 1.0%

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Georgia officials and lawmakers are digesting a primetime address from President Donald Trump on Thursday, during which he made claims of unsafe election machines, noncitizen voting, and deep state cover ups all primarily tied to the country’s 2020 election.

The White House followed up Trump’s address with a large upload of documents purporting to show evidence of the president’s claims. The included reports from the nation’s national intelligence agencies on the topics the president touched on, but at times contradicted his sentiments.

Georgia officials were quick to respond.

Republican Congressman Mike Collins, who received Trump’s endorsement in his race against incumbent Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, defended the president’s willingness to keep a watchful eye on the nation’s election systems.

“Our right to free and secure elections should be protected relentlessly, and every American should be alarmed by our enemies’ ability to disrupt our elections and jeopardize our right to vote,” Collins said in an online post. “There is no time more important than now to pass the SAVE America Act and safeguard democracy.”

Trump, at the end of his address, urged Congress to pass his “Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements” or SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to cast a vote in the U.S. So far, it has stalled in the Senate.

“If you look at voting today it’s in such bad shape in so many states and we are committing to fix it,” said Trump. “Addressing this crisis of election security demands that congress must pass the SAVE America Act. How easy is that to do? Unless you want to cheat.”

Georgia’s Democratic lawmakers also were skeptical at best about Trump’s claims.

“The president is rehashing his demented fantasies about an election being stolen in 2020 as a pretext for interfering in the election in 2026,” said Sen. Raphael Warnock.

Gabriel Sterling was the COO at the Georgia Secretary of State office in 2020. He agreed with Trump that election security is extremely important, but said the president made claims he couldn’t back up.

“When it was done it was essentially, is that it” said Sterling of the president’s address. “He talked about how the vulnerabilities could be exploited. Well the vulnerabilities of any system could be exploited and every system has vulnerabilities. That’s why you have people, processes, rules and laws and training around it so that they won’t be exploited.”

But the real world effects of Trump’s address took shape Friday. In his own separate address, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said state’s that don’t conform to the White House’s plan for enhanced election security could risk losing funding and grant dollars.

“Meaning that if these states want grants and they want to be reimbursed to run federal elections, they’re going to have to implement security,” he said. “We’re not trying to get into anything else, but we’re saying that the machines had to be secured.”