Friday, September 24, 1999
Weather may be the main culprit in Wednesday's fatal plane crash

By JOHN THOMPSON
Coweta Editor

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are still sifting through the wreckage to determine what caused Wednesday morning's plane crash that took the lives of two Senoia residents.

Steven DiStevano and Steven Gurley both died early Wednesday morning when the Piper Navajo Chieftan plane DiStevano was piloting went down within a half mile of the Newnan-Coweta Airport near Moreland.

Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager said his department received a 911 call at 5:30 a.m. reporting a possible airplane crash near the airport. Officials from the Sheriff's Department, the Fire Department and emergency services responded to the scene within minutes and discovered the wreckage of the plane just south of the airport.

Yeager said that, while the investigation is in the hands of federal officials now, the crash could be weather related since there was heavy fog Wednesday morning.

The flight originated at the Coweta County airport and was apparently returning from a cargo drop-off when the crash occurred, the sheriff added.

DiStevano worked for a company that delivered copies of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today to several Southeastern markets, said Yeager.

DiStevano and Gurley were roommates at a Lawshe Road address in Senoia and were believed to be in their middle 30s.

The sheriff did not know when the federal investigation would be completed and results would be released to the public.

Yeager said this is the first fatality at the airport in more than 30 years.


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