LIMESTONE COUNTY — The names of two people that died in a Limestone County plane crash Dec. 4 have been released by the Limestone County coroner’s office.
According to Limestone County Coroner Mike West, William Lloyd Huston, 67, from Huntsville, and Nikul Navin Desai, 31, from Huntsville, were flying out of Huntsville International Airport when their plane came down in Limestone County.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the twin-engine Beechcraft E95 crashed northwest of Huntsville International Airport at around 11:20 a.m. The crash occurred near 23726 Alabama 127 in Elkmont. The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the crash happened in the area of Alabama 127 and Witty Mill Road.
At the time of the crash, witnesses reported seeing the plane spiral toward the ground at a low altitude.
David and Vicki Dowd own the land on which the crash occurred, and David said he was on his tractor when he came upon the crash site and called 911.
Elkmont residents Kenny and Evelyn Culbertson were headed north on Alabama 127 in Limestone County when, off to the right, they saw a small plane at low altitude spiraling downward.
The plane they saw crashed near the intersection of 127 and Witty Mill Road, killing two on board, according to the Limestone County coroner’s office.
“We were about a mile from Witty Mill Road when we saw the plane on our right,” said Evelyn Culbertson. “Kenny said he hoped someone was in control of that plane.”
Evelyn Culbertson said the plane couldn’t have been more than a half-mile high when they saw it. She said they were at what is known as the Alabama Forks, where 127 intersects with Hays Mill Road.
“It was very low,” she said. “I don’t know how it got all the way over to Witty Mill Road. We turned on the news as soon as we got home and it came on that there had been a plane crash on Witty Mill Road and two people were killed.”
The Culbertsons live about 1 mile from the crash site. Witty Mill Road was blocked through mid-afternoon Monday.
The FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and Limestone County authorities are investigating the crash.
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