Heart break Hooters plane crashed and killed NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki…………………
This Day In Weather History, a daily podcast hosted by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, tells the tales of individuals, towns, and events and how the weather affected them. It began after NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki perished in a Hooters jet crash. — NASCAR winner Alan Kulwicki went by the monikers “Special K” and “Polish Prince.” Throughout his career, Kulwicki received sponsorship from a number of businesses, including the US Army, Maxwell House Coffee, and the American restaurant chain Hooters.
On Thursday, April 1, 1993, Kulwicki was travelling in a business aircraft operated by Hooters (a Fairchild SA227-TT Merlin) from McGhee Tyson Airport, close to Knoxville, Tennessee, to Tri-Cities Regional Airport, near Blountville, Tennessee. He was in Knoxville for a Hooters appearance.
The aircraft slowed as it got closer to its target and crashed in a field close to Blountville. To subscribe to This Day in Weather History, click this link.
Kulwicki, two Hooters executives, and the pilot were all on board. Nobody made it out alive. The accident was looked into by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), who conducted witness interviews and a physical inspection of the collision scene. The pilot was speaking with an air traffic controller at the time, and the controller stated that he was unable to understand the last signals sent from the aircraft. The aircraft’s lights were seen to descend sharply in a spiral from cloud height by the air traffic controller.
The engine and propellers were not working, according to the crash scene investigation. But prior to the catastrophe, there were no indications of a malfunctioning plane system.
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