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| FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | forsythnews.com
PUBLISHED SEPT. 16, 2012
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Photos by Jennifer Sami Forsyth County News
Federal investigators inspect the scene of a plane crash in northeastern
Forsyth that killed its two occupants.
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Authorities are trying to determine what may
have happened to cause the plane to crash.
Authorities
probe cause;
witnesses
saw distress
By Jennifer Sami
jsami@forsythnews.com
' Those who live in the
residential area of north
eastern Forsyth near
Laker Lanier where a
small plane crashed
Thursday night, killing
its two occupants, won’t
soon forget the incident.
. “We heard a plane
‘having issues and we
looked up and we saw
.this plane kind of spiral
‘ing, making noises,
‘sputtering, dying out
and then we heard a
:thud,” said Denny Brase,
who saw the crash while
out for a nightly walk
with his wife.
- The aircraft, which
-Brase described as “an
{experimental kit plane,”
‘landed face down about
:7:45 p.m. near Lanier
and Bamby drives.
“We started running
toward the area,” he
-said. “It pretty well
:came straight down.
-There was no dipping or
-anything."
Investigators with the
Federal Aviation
‘Administration and
National Transportation
Safety Board are trying
to determine what may
have caused the acci
dent.
The two men aboard
who died were both
Forsyth County resi
dents. According to the
Forsyth County Sheriff’s
Office, the pilot was
Don Hershall Hall, 45,
and the passenger was
'4O-year-old David Jason
Schorr.
Jason Shivers.
Those sentiments were
echoed by the Rev. John
Martin, pastor. of the
nearby church, which
sits just yards from
where the plane came
down.
“It was miraculous
that [the pilot] missed
power lines, churches,
houses, kids and so
forth,” said Martin, who
added that he believes
the pilot intentionally
steered the plane to that
spot.
“This is a congested
area ... there's not a lot
of empty space, but he
managed to come down
right in the middle of it.
We are lifting up prayers
for the families of the
two men that were
killed.”
Attempts to reach the
families of the two men
Friday were not success
ful, and funeral arrange
ments have not been
announced.
According to the FAA
Web site, the fixed
wing, single-engine air
craft was built by Hall
and completed in 2009.
The registered owner
was Wilmington, Del.-
based Donka.net Inc.
Arlene Salac, an FAA
spokeswoman, said all
registered aircraft are
“inspected by the FAA
at certain points along
the way to make sure
that it’s air worthy.”
Once the plane is
complete, it undergoes a
final inspection by the
FAA and receives a reg
istration number, she
said.
According to his
social media page, Hall
was a married father of
two daughters who was
passionate about flying.
He chronicled his
flight experiences in an
online blog. The entries
tell how he built the air
craft with some help
. Sheriff’s Capt. Tim
House said the single
engine plane had left
earlier that night from
‘Stoney Point Airfield in
‘south Forsyth.
.. It was not immediate
:ly clear how long it had
‘been in the air or where
‘the men were heading.
' No one on the ground
was injured and no
property was damaged,
.authorities said.
* “There were a lot of
.people out and about at
.that time of night, walk
‘ing and bicycling in the
‘area, so it’s a fortunate
thing ... that no one on
the ground was affect
ed,” said Forsyth County
Fire Division Chief
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;; Officidl partner of the UGA Al'ur.nzi Association
from his father over the
course of three years. Its
first flight was in 2009.
Friday, neighbors
recalled hearing a boom
preceded by what one
man described as a
chainsaw-like sound.
Many neighbors gath
ered around the crash
site, which is not far
from Shady Grove Park,
in attempt to see what
was going on. According
to Brase, it resembled a
scene from a movie.
“There was a lot of
confusion,” he said. "“It's
not unusual for planes to
be stalling over the lake.
They must practice that
stall technique. But
when we looked up to
this one, it didn't come
out, It just started spiral
ing down.”
Martin said he arrived
at the church about 10
minutes later. Neighbors
were upset over the
severity of the incident
and many had to park at
the church and walk
home since the wreck
age blocked traffic in
both directions on
Lanier Drive for hours.
Public safety crews
were unable to move the
aircraft to the roadside
until after 11 p.m.
Shivers credited Deer
Creek Shores
Presbyterian for playing
an integral role in the
response, offering cof
fee, food and “allowing
the church to be accessi
ble by firefighters and
law enforcement on the
scene to have facilities
to use.” .
“They kept us fed and
hydrated,” Shivers said.
“We're very appreciative
of their support. Some
from their staff rotated
shifts throughout the
night and kept someone
available for us through
out the evening. That’s
certainly going above
and beyond.”
Fair record
shattered
for city festival
By Crystal Ledford
cledford@forsythnews.com
This year's Cumming Country Fair &
Festival set a new attendance record.
Citing gate counts, Cumming
Fairgrounds director Dave Horton said
the festival drew more than 141,000 peo
ple during its 11-day run, which ended
Sunday.
“Not only did we break the record, we
completely blew it away,” he said.
The previous attendance record of
about 127,500 was set in 2006.
“It was exciting because we've been
looking to break that 130,000 mark for
several years now,” Horton said. “That’s
been our goal. And not only were we
able to do that, but we were able to sur
pass that mark even to 140,000, so that’s
going to set our next goal even higher.”
He noted that sunny skies and consis
tently warm temperatures throughout the
fair were strong contributing factors in
the high turnout.
“We just had a perfect weather pattern
in our favor,” Horton said. “We had six
record days within the 11-day run, so
that helped fuel the final numbers.”
Horton said that while some other
fairs throughout the event's 18-year his
tory have seen many sunny days, some
times the cooler fall temperatures that
arrive in early October can lead to lower
attendance.
“We've had nine-, 10-, 11-day runs
without rain, but it'd be like the first
week it would be hot and then the next
week during the night it'd be in the 30s
or 405,” he said.
“When you're in this transition from
summer to fall and you have a 30- or
40-degree shift in temperature, people
feel it more.”
This year, temperatures stayed more
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Autumn Vetter Forsyth County News
A fair-goer rides the sky buckets
during the 2012 Cumming Country
Fair & Festival.
consistent. Horton also noted the good
bargain the fair can provide for family
entertainment.
“Of course, we had some good lineups
and some good specials throughout the
fair that people were able to take advan
tage of,” he said. “Even with the econo
my down, it's such a good deal ... even
on full admission [price] days, $7 or $3
is a cheap ticket for hours of activity.
“If people come in and do Heritage
Village and the ground acts or see an
entertainer, then all those are free, so
they don’t have to spend a lot of
money. It’s a situation where in hard
times you can make that dollar go a
little farther.”