JONESBORO -- A small aircraft crashed into a Jonesboro shopping center parking lot and caught on fire Wednesday morning after its engine stalled, police said.
Pilot Kenneth Caubble, 40, of Jonesboro and his son, Harrison Caubble, 18, were not injured.
Jonesboro police officer Logan Butler said the Caubbles took off from Jonesboro Municipal Airport about 5:30 a.m Wednesday and were headed to Oklahoma, where Harrison Caubble was to visit a college.
The 1973 Piper Arrow soon began to "fly strangely," said Kenneth Caubble, according to Butler's report.
The pilot turned around and headed back toward the airport, which was about a mile away, but the engine stalled, forcing him to land in a shopping center parking lot at the corner of Highland Avenue and Red Wolf Boulevard, across the street from the Turtle Creek Mall.
The plane landed but struck a metal post that tore its wing off. It hit a second pole, causing the aircraft to flip over and catch on fire. Both Caubbles freed themselves from the wreckage uninjured, Butler said in the report.
Police notified the Federal Aviation Administration, and representatives are expected to investigate the crash today.
State Desk on 06/11/2015