ALAPAHA — The National Transportation Safety Board has completed a preliminary report on a September plane crash that killed a crop duster pilot in Berrien County. 

While the report does not name a cause for the crash, it does provide more detail about the mechanical status of the airplane.

The plane’s pilot, Jason Watson, 31, of Nashville, was killed in the crash Sept. 16, said Berrien County Sheriff Ray Paulk. The crash occurred in a rural field off a dirt road near Alapaha.

James Davis of Alapaha was working on peanut equipment in a field off Daniel Griffin Road around 9:15 a.m. when he heard the plane’s engine quit.

“I felt a ‘thump’ and heard the crash,” he said.

He and a friend who lives nearby, Ray Heath, jumped a fence and ran to the crash site, where they found one occupant in the plane.

“He was already dead,” Davis said.

According to the NTSB report, the plane involved was a Cessna A188, registry number N3547Q, which had taken off from the Berrien County Airport at nearby Nashville. 

An assistant to the pilot told investigators three aerial application flights were planned that day; the first flight left the airport at 7:15 a.m. and returned an hour and 15 minutes later. 

The assistant said the pilot reported “everything seems good” and began preparing for the second flight;  about 160 gallons of insecticide was loaded and the fuel tank was topped off from a trailer-tanker, the report said. The pilot left for the second run at 8:55 a.m.

After witnesses reported hearing the plane’s engine stop, the airplane was found in an upright position in an open plowed field just north of the field being sprayed, the report said.

All major components of the airplane were accounted for at the scene. The fuselage exhibited impact and fire damage; however, there was no evidence of fire in flight, according to the report. There were signs the plane had been in a left spin when it hit the ground, the report said.

The instrument panel was consumed by the post-impact fire; fire-damaged agricultural global positioning system was found in the cockpit and was retained to attempt data extraction, according to the report.

The fuel throttle body/metering unit was found to contain debris and was retained for further examination, the report said.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.