[at-l] Plane crash in the Smokies...

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CLINGMANS DOME - A Tennessee accountant died Thursday after his small
aircraft crashed near the North Carolina - Tennessee state line in the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park.

Chuck Woodson, 42, of Seymour had been flying for about six years, according
to Knoxville Flight Center owner John McConkey, who had been his instructor.
The airplane was found near Clingmans Dome.

"This is our first fatality," McConkey said of his company's 13-year history.
"He had a wife and two kids, and another on the way. They were a good
Christian family."

The mood was somber Friday at the flight center, where Woodson recently had
returned from a winter break for more training.

"I just flew three or four days ago with him as a refresher," McConkey said.
"He hadn't flown at night in a long time."

Woodson had not anticipated a night flight Thursday, according to McConkey.
But during his flight that day - to Columbia, S.C. - the pilot reported the
plane was leaking brake fluid. The repair took longer than expected, delaying
the pilot's takeoff until about 7 p.m., McConkey said.

"He probably should have spent the night and come back tomorrow," he said.

Woodson landed in Pickens, S.C., to drop off a friend who was trained in
instrument aviation. McConkey expected the man to arrive in Knoxville with
Woodson, but for some reason the plan changed. Somewhere near Clingmans Dome
the pilot radioed Knoxville's control tower.

"They had him on the radar," McConkey said. "He mentioned no problems. He was
at 8,500 feet - 2,000 feet above the mountain. He wanted to know what the
Knoxville weather was and then he said he was descending."

The Knoxville tower contacted park rangers about 10:15 p.m., spokesman Bob
Miller said. Shortly before 9:30 Friday morning, following emergency signals
transmitted by the downed craft, rangers found the wreckage.

"He had been killed instantly," Miller said. "Rangers went up with family
members to the site."

The National Transportation Safety Board has been called to investigate the
cause of the crash.

"He was descending and he apparently descended too soon," McConkey said.
"There also could have been some turbulence. It was kind of rough last
night."

This was the 45th plane crash in the history of the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, according to Miller, who said the last came in 1997.