Passenger was pinned in crashed plane and ‘had to be cut out,’ NC sheriff says

A Piper Aircraft crashed in the Indian Trail area of Union County, leaving a passenger pinned inside until rescuers could cut him out, according to the Union County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened around 2 p.m. Sunday in the 5800 block of N. Rocky River Road, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Union County investigators initially believed the trapped person was the pilot. However, they later learned the pilot “was able to gather enough strength to crawl out of the plane and call 911 for help,” officials said.

“The passenger then moved into the pilot’s area in an attempt to exit the aircraft in the same manner,” the sheriff’s office said in an update.

“However, due to injuries and the aircraft door being pinned, he was unable to exit, and the plane had to be cut open by first responders to get the passenger out.”

The pilot was airlifted to the hospital, officials said.

Identities of the two people have not been released, and the Federal Aviation Administration reports their injuries were minor.

The point of impact was a cow pasture and one wing and a wheel were severed off the single-engine aircraft, WSOC reported. Inquisitive cows eventually surrounded the wreckage, the station said.

“Heard the crash when it landed. When it hit the ground, the lady who lives in our house here, she called me and said a plane was down in a pasture,” property owner Doug Rowell told WSOC.

It happened about a 30-mile drive southeast from uptown Charlotte.

This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 5:11 AM.