A plane that crashed in Lincoln County earlier this month was apparently having engine problems when it went down, according to a statement from the pilot, a Texarkana minister who needed minor medical attention but was able to walk away from the accident.
William Tracy Harris, 63, who, with his wife Lori Harris, operates Harvest International Ministries in Texarkana, Ark., was flying a 1981 twin-prop Beechcraft 58P back to Texarkana from a preaching engagement in Albemarle, N.C., when, on the evening of Feb. 5, he detected something wrong, according to a recently released State Police report and online information.
“…(T)he engines didn’t seem to be performing normally,” he wrote in a report taken by the State Police, one of several agencies that responded to the scene. “Although it did not seem to be an emergency, thought I should divert to Pine Bluff airport for service if needed. Declining power to the engines did not allow me to reach the runway.”
Several attempts to reach Harris were unsuccessful, although a pilot for Harris’ ministry confirmed that Harris had been flying the craft when it went down.
At about 7 p.m., Metropolitan Emergency Communications Association in Jefferson County received a phone call from the Federal Aviation Administration saying a plane was scheduled to land at the Pine Bluff Regional Airport at 5 p.m. but they had not heard from the pilot.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
A few minutes later, telephone contact was made with the pilot — later identified as Harris — by the Pine Bluff Fire Department and Arkansas State Police. Harris said he had been the only person on the 6-seat plane, which is registered to the ministry, and that he was not badly injured.
The crash was initially thought to be 5 miles south of the Pine Bluff airport, but Harris was able to provide his coordinates, placing the accident inside Lincoln County. Members of the Pine Bluff Fire Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Pine Bluff Regional Airport, Emergency Ambulance Services Inc. and additional troopers with the State Police responded to the area to search for the aircraft, and Lincoln County officials were called in to assist, according to the State Police report.
“Personnel were able to locate the crash location on the property of 9485 Alexander Road in rural Lincoln County, Arkansas,” stated the report. “The crash occurred south of the buildings located at this address and in a heavily wooded area.”
Doug Hale, manager of the Pine Bluff airport, went to the scene the night of the crash and returned the next morning when he was able to see that the plane had sheared off the tops of trees as it was nearing the ground.
“It was definitely a crash,” Hale said. “It totaled the aircraft. There’s not any metal left that’s salvageable because every piece of metal on the aircraft is bent. It was at about a 45 degree angle with its nose down.” He also said damage to a propeller indicated that one of the engines had stopped before the plane crashed.
Hale said Harris didn’t want to go to the hospital but was eventually persuaded to be taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center where he was treated and released.
“He had quite a bit of blood on his face that looked like lacerations to his nose and forehead,” Hale said. “He was bleeding quite a bit from what seemed like pretty good gashes.”
Hale said Harris was fortunate to survive the crash, coming down in a sizable plane at night and into a heavily wooded area.
“Yes, he was very lucky,” Hale said. “It could certainly have been a lot worse.”
No one was injured on the ground from the accident and no structures were hit.
Employees of the Star City Municipal Airport attempted to retrieve the aircraft’s transponder but were not able to safely do so, according to the State Police.
The State Police report said they contacted the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration and the FAA Flight Standards office in Little Rock to report the crash.
In response to a media inquiry from The Commercial, Sarah Taylor Sulick, a public affairs specialist with the NTSB, said the agency is looking into the accident.
“We are investigating,” Sulick said in an email, adding that an initial report should be available within a month of the accident. “The preliminary report will contain factual information gathered during the initial phase of the investigation. A probable cause of the crash and any contributing factors will come in the final report in 12-24 months.”
The State Police said Harris, who has a private pilot license that was issued in May 2020, had taken off from Charlotte Executive Airport.
On the Harvest International Ministries Facebook page, Harris is shown with two other pastors at a revival at the Boomerang Church in Albemarle, N.C. that ran from Feb. 3-7. The Harvest ministries website says it also owns a 1986 Cessna 650 corporate jet that seats 12.
According to online information, Tracy and Lori Harris head up Harvest Church and are senior pastors at The Family Word Church, both of which have the same address as Harvest International Ministries — 4000 Arkansas Blvd., Texarkana, Ark. The Family Word Church is listed as being part of Kenneth Copeland Ministries.
The pilot of a twin-engine plane that crashed in Lincoln County earlier this month (shown here) was able to walk away from the debris with minor injuries. (Special to The Commercial/Doug Hale)