NTSB releases initial findings in Harnett County plane crash that killed 2
Two weeks after an aerobatics plane crashed in Harnett County, killing two Wake County men, the National Transportation Safety Board has released its initial report on the accident.
The two-seater Pitts Aerobatics S-2B was destroyed about 9 a.m. June 20 when it slammed into the ground between a boat dealership and a construction site in Broadway, according to the report. Anton Van Deth, the pilot and owner, and Dwight Frye, the passenger, were killed in the crash, ABC11 reported.
The plane had taken off from Sanford’s Raleigh Executive Jetport seven minutes prior, the NTSB report states. It’s unclear what its final destination was, though the flight was operating as an aerobatic flight, when pilots can perform special tricks and maneuvers like spins and rolls.
Witnesses told investigators they saw the plane spinning with its nose down before the crash, while surveillance cameras captured the aircraft “in a steep, nose down, attitude,” according to the report. The airplane was mostly burned up in a post-crash fire, but its steel structure and parts of its flight control system remained intact, the report states.
The plane was built in 1986 and purchased by Van Deth in March, registration records show.
Van Deth lived in Raleigh and worked as the chief marketing officer at Spryker, a digital commerce platform, according to his LinkedIn profile. Frye was a Cary resident and certified aerobatics instructor who first earned his pilot’s license in 1989 at Johnston County Airport, his website states. He taught at Wings of Carolina Flying Club at Raleigh Executive Jetport.
“When Anton was seven and a half years old, he decided his dream was to someday fly a plane, race a car, ride a motorcycle, sail a boat, learn to shoot for sport, and scuba dive,” Spryker wrote in a 2023 LinkedIn post announcing Van Deth’s hiring. “Today, he is proud to share that he accomplished this dream while creating many great memories along the way.”
Frye was a retired software developer who began to pursue flight instruction full-time around 2018, according to his website.
“Dwight had a lot of spirit and a big heart,” a friend wrote in a Facebook post.
The NTSB investigation remained open as of Saturday morning.
