Four members of NC family killed in plane crash near Sanford. What we know
For an update from the National Transportation Safety Board, see this story.
Four members of a family were killed when their small plane crashed in Lee County north of Sanford on Monday afternoon.
Travis and Candace Buchanan of Lee County and their children, Aubrey and Walker, died when their single-engine plane crashed in a field south of Riddle Road at about 2 p.m., according to the State Highway Patrol. Travis and Candace Buchanan were both 35, while Aubrey was 10 and Walker was 9.
The family owned Buchanan Farms, where they grew strawberries, squash, cucumbers and other vegetables and held festivals, car shows and other community events.
The plane is a Cirrus SR22T, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating what caused the crash. It was registered to Travis Buchanan, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The cause of the crash was not immediately apparent. The FAA said Tuesday that the “aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances.”
The family took off from Merritt Island, Florida, on the coast east of Orlando, shortly after 11 a.m. Monday. The plane was approaching Raleigh Executive Jetport in Lee County when it crashed, according to the flight tracking website FlightaAware.com.
Three members of the family died at the site of the crash, according to the highway patrol. The fourth was taken by Carolina Air Care helicopter to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill and later died there.
The plane went down in a remote field north of U.S. 421 and east of U.S. 1. Aerial images taken by The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner ABC11 showed the plane’s passenger compartment badly crumpled.
This story was originally published July 7, 2025 at 5:40 PM.
