CINCINNATI -- A pilot flying from Lunken Airport to Atlanta died Friday night in a fiery crash that also set a house ablaze.
The Cessna Citation I crashed about 7:20 p.m. about 3 miles northeast of Cobb County International Airport, according to FAA spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt.
Robert George Westlake, 78, was the pilot, Cobb County Police said Sunday. He was the only known victim.
The aircraft landed in Cincinnati on Thursday before departing for Georgia on Friday, according to Lunken Airport manager Fred Anderton.
PHOTOS: Latest images from the crash scene
Westlake told air traffic controllers he was having an issue with the autopilot feature shortly before the crash, federal investigators said at a briefing Saturday. They also said they'd recovered a bright orange data recorder, often referred to as a "black box."
Investigators w/ FAA and Cobb Co ME on scene of small jet crash. Waiting on NTSB investigators to arrive pic.twitter.com/Z74MCRlDB5
— Steve Gehlbach (@SteveGWSB) March 25, 2017
The plane, registered to a Georgia company, was on its way to Fulton County Airport when it crashed next to a house and exploded, Cobb County Fire Department spokeswoman Denell Boyd told reporters. The house next door caught on fire from the radiant heat and was fully engulfed when the department arrived on the scene, she said.
#BREAKING - This is video from moments after a plane crashed into a home in Cobb County | LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/zeCdBDOxpg pic.twitter.com/z41qWYOE5P
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) March 25, 2017
@wsbtv plane just crashed into a home in Kennesaw 2 houses down from my brother. He just sent me this photo. Cops just arrived on the scene. pic.twitter.com/ckhcNfAJ60
— Amy Gravley (@amy_gravley) March 24, 2017
People say they watched in horror -- as the plane came crashing down. The story @ 11 @wsbtv. #developing pic.twitter.com/uSIzSStA6P
— Nefertiti Jáquez (@NefertitiWSB) March 25, 2017
Everyone in both houses got out safely. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
Tullan Avard, a homeowner in Kennesaw's Chastain Lakes subdivision, said she was sitting outside with a neighbor when they saw the plane fly over.
"It was flying normally, when all of a sudden it starts spiraling down in the distance," she said. "I thought I was imagining it, but all of a sudden I heard a huge boom and saw a huge plume of smoke coming up."
#Developing: Witnesses say, they could see smoke from miles away. This photo was taken by @AveryTadd. More @ 11 @wsbtv. #WSB pic.twitter.com/DnJh5uDk6j
— Nefertiti Jáquez (@NefertitiWSB) March 24, 2017
