A pilot enrolled as an Army reservist has died after his twin-engine plane crashed into an 18-wheeler truck and sparked a fire in North Carolina, causing a segment of the I-85 to close on Wednesday afternoon.’
Raymond John Ackley, 43, died at the scene, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said. He was part of the North Carolina National Guard since 2009 and was deployed in Kuwait and Afghanistan for a year in 2011, WCNC revealed.
A spokesman National Guard told Dailymail.com that Ackley ‘served honorably’ and was admired by all who knew him.
Ackley was also working for Microsoft for the past 13 years in engineering and customer-support roles.
‘Ray touched many lives at Microsoft in positive ways,’ Adam DePue, who created the GoFundMe page, wrote on the site. ‘He was also a very genuine person, who always cared for the people who worked with him and was a very sincere and dedicated team member at Microsoft.’
‘He is a tremendous loss and we will miss him,’ DePue, who is a principal engineering manager at Microsoft, added on the site. ‘Our hearts go out to Ray, his family and his friends in this time of need.’
Ackley is survived by his wife, Ching and their three sons, ages 11 and 6, and 5 months, according to a GoFundMe page set up for his family. As of Thursday evening, the site raised more than $10,000.
Dailymail.com has reached out to the Ackleys for comment.
Raymond Ackley, 43, was part of the North Carolina National Guard since 2009 and ‘served honorably’, according to a spokesperson
Ackley was enrolled as an Army reserve and was deployed to Afghanistan and Kuwait in 2011. He is survived by his wife, Ching Ackley, and their three sons, ages 11 and 6, and 5 months.
Emergency crews were on the scene clearing the way as the southbound lanes were closed
The Federal Aviation Administration reported on Wednesday that the plane took off from Davidson County Airport when it lost altitude and crashed into an 18-wheeler truck heading south, driven by 41-year-old Barrin Lamont Davis. He lives in Concord – 35 miles away from the incident.
Davidson County troopers said the plane was fully engulfed in flames after crashing onto the highway. The southbound lanes of the interstate were shut down between exits 91 and 88 in Lexington near Cotton Grove Road starting around 5:30 p.m.
A portion of the highway remained closed as crews worked to clear the scene, which reopened by 11 p.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the fatal crash
An unnamed pilot died Wednesday afternoon after his plane crashed onto a highway
The small plane was struck by a tractor-trailer after it wrecked on the highway
The name of the pilot has not been released but the driver of the vehicle was reported alive
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the case.
‘Apparently it was having some problem in takeoff ‘ crash witness Donald Holt Sr. told WRAL. ‘My wife said, ‘The plane is kinda low.’ I said, ‘Yes, it is.”
‘As soon as we got right over the highway, we saw the tail of the plane and we saw the tractor-trailer learning on its side and both were on fire,’ said Holt. ‘As we got a little further, we saw a bunch of smoke — white smoke and black smoke.’
‘The flames were coming. It was too hot [and] it was too dangerous to get close to it,’ said Holt.
Video and photos from the scene showed the charred remains of the small plane and the turned-over tractor-trailer splayed across the highway.
Plumes of black smoke billowed across the interstate as emergency crews stopped traffic and worked to clear the road.
The fiery crash shut down I-85 in Davidson County, North Carolina during the rush hour
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