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Cheatham County officials identified the man killed in a small plane crash as local pilot Darrel Whittaker.
Originally from Australia, Whittaker was 51.
Cheatham County first responders were called to the scene of the crash shortly after 2:15 p.m. Monday along Chapmansboro Road.
The plane, identified by the Federal Aviation Administration as an Aviat Pitts S-1-11B, tail number N5111B, came to a stop upside down in about three feet of water in the Cumberland River, EMA Director and County Fire Chief Edwin Hogan said Monday.
Cheatham County EMS Director B.J. Hudspeth on Tuesday afternoon identified Whittaker as the pilot.
The plane, built in 1998, was registered to Whittaker, according to the FAA.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Whittaker’s plane took off from Whifferdill Airport in Cheatham County about 1:45 p.m. Whifferdill Airport is in a community developed by Ray Williams, an aerobatic pilot.
Williams built the community in part to have a waivered aerobatic area for practice, according to a website for the development.
The fixed wing, single-engine Aviat Pitts S-1-11B is a biplane designed for aerobatic flying.
Nicknamed the “Super Stinker,” the S-1-11B was designed by Curtis Pitts for aerobatic competition.
Whittaker’s plane circled the area, making what appeared to be circular turns over the Cumberland River for about 12 minutes before the path stopped, according to the plane tracking website FlightAware.
