ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Sixty-eight year old, James Ronald Wood , of Brunswick, died in a plane crash Saturday afternoon, according to Leslie Faulkenberry, spokesperson for the Glynn County Airport Commission.
According to Kathleen Bergen, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, the small experimental aircraft crashed on departure from runway 22 of McKinnon Airport, in Glynn County, Georgia.
Bergen said the crash happened at about 1:40 pm Saturday afternoon. Bergen said the pilot was the only the only person on board the amateur-built aircraft.
The FAA registry of N-Number inquiry results lists Wood as the registered owner of the fixed wing single-engine plane.
According to Glynn County Police, the plane crashed into a home at 195 Anguilla Avenue. No one was inside the home at the time.
First Coast News spoke to Wood's wife, Leyla, Saturday evening.
"I am in so much pain right now. My baby is gone," Leyla Wood said through her tears. "He was brave. Fearless. He cared so much for people. He's the most amazing person."
A husband and father, Leyla Wood called her husband a hero.
Bob Herrin told First Coast News he does not know Wood. Herrin took photos and video of the immediate aftermath. He said he heard something in the sky that caught his attention Saturday afternoon.
"I heard a backfire. A very loud POW! And then, it was quiet," He explained.
Herrin lives a few doors down from where the crash happened.
"We hear them all the time. But, it's kind of scary. Realizing you're this close to something could happen like that," He said.
Wanda Griffith also lives near the crash site.
"You feel sorry for his family. I didn't know him, but any loss of life is hard to take," Griffith said.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is working to figure out a probable cause.
