Plane has NASCAR connection

HIDDENITE, N.C. -- A dozen investigators are still on the scene of a plane crash in Alexander County. The single-engine Cessna 182 went down near a small airport just east of Taylorsville on Thursday

Experts from Cessna and Teledyne Continental Motors were brought in Friday afternoon to help investigators look over the plane and its engine to determine exactly what happened the day before.

NTSB officials were looking at a tree at the end of the runway, which the plane may have hit just before it crashed, but they say it’s too early to know what caused the plane to go down.

Taylorsville Airport Manager Earl Matheson says the two pilots were practicing landing at his airport. He says they left around 11 a.m. Thursday

“I figured they went over to Statesville to gas up because we was out of fuel out there,” Matheson said.

Officials say the plane went down about two hours later just a few miles to the west at Gryder’s Strip.

The crash left a trail of debris along the runway and killed the two men on board, including the 75 year old pilot, Dr. Walter Long Jr.

Dr. Russell Faulkenberry is a friend and business partner of Long and says flying, “was a great passion of his; he really loved it, enjoyed it. Every minute he talked about it, almost everyday when he’d come in his plans were flying.”

His passenger, 70-year-old retired airline pilot Benny Shape, was also killed in the crash.

With thousands of flying hours between the two and a clear day, no one is certain what caused the plane to go down so violently.

“It can happen to anybody, fly all your life and still something can happen,” said Matheson. “We’re all praying for them and I hope for the best -- it’s a bad tragedy.”

While friends and family try to come to terms, investigators are trying to preserve and document the evidence before moving the plane.

“If we can do everything here on site before moving the aircraft we try to do that,” said NTSB Scene Investigator Paul Cox.

During our investigation Friday, WCNC discovered the plane has a history with a famous NASCAR family.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. and his father Ralph owned the plane from 1981 until 1985 – but we’re told it has been repainted since that time.

A spokesperson with the NTSB says it will be at least 10 days before any preliminary information about the crash is released.