A late-night training flight ended in a crash just blocks from DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, injuring three but sparing nearby homes.
🚨 What Happened: Investigators say the Piper PA-28, operated by All2Fly Flight School, left PDK for Rome, Georgia, late Friday night, then returned for a series of touch-and-go landings. Shortly after midnight, the plane clipped trees and landed in a yard near Clairmont Road and 9th Street.
- Power lines were knocked down, cutting electricity to parts of Brookhaven.
- Brookhaven Police, DeKalb Fire Rescue and Georgia Power secured the scene within minutes.
📝 Between the Lines: Officials say no one on the ground was hurt, and damage was limited to trees and utility lines. For an aircraft crash in a residential zone, that’s a rare stroke of luck.
- The most serious injuries were a broken wrist and ankle.
- All three occupants were taken to Grady Hospital.
✈ Why It Matters: PDK sits in the middle of dense neighborhoods. When something goes wrong in the air that close to Clairmont Road, the margin for disaster is razor thin.
🔍 The Big Picture: The NTSB and FAA will now try to determine what went wrong during what was supposed to be a routine training exercise. The aircraft will be moved later today after clearance from federal investigators.
The Sources: PDK Airport, Brookhaven Police Department, DeKalb Fire Rescue, Georgia Power, NTSB, FAA, DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson.
How to Read and Understand the News
Truth doesn’t bend because we dislike it.
Facts don’t vanish when they make us uncomfortable.
Events happen whether we accept them or not.
Good reporting challenges us. The press isn’t choosing sides — it’s relaying what official, verified sources say. Blaming reporters for bad news is like blaming a thermometer for a fever.
Americans have a history of misunderstanding simple things. In the 1980s, A&W rolled out a 1/3-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. It failed because too many people thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If we can botch basic math, we can certainly misread the news.
Before dismissing a story, ask yourself:
- What evidence backs this?
- Am I reacting to facts or feelings?
- What would change my mind?
- Am I just shooting the messenger?
And one more: Am I assuming bias just because I don’t like the story?
Smart news consumers seek truth, not comfort.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
