A Cessna 501 crashed in Percy Priest lake in Smyrna, a small town near Nashville, killing all seven people on board, after taking off from Smyrna airport shortly.
The plan was carrying Remnant fellowship church founder Gwen Shamblin Lara who was also a renowned diet guru along with her husband, son-in-law, and close friends.
A plane crash near Nashville was reportedly heading towards Palm Beach International airport, Florida.
All 7 onboard passengers were Remnant Fellowship leaders of the Remnant Fellowship Church in Brentwood. Gwen Shamblin Lara’s husband, Joe Lara was also an established actor and had played the lead role in a tv series “Tarzan: the epic adventures” which was a hit tv series that ran from 1996 to 1997.
The other deceased people on the fatal flight were Brandon Hannah; son-in-law of Lara, Jennifer and David Martin, and Jessica and Jonathan Walters.
The national safety board is investigating the small jet crash in Tennessee lake.
Gwen Shamblin Lara was a registered dietician and was known for her Weigh Down Diet and was renowned for her church services across the country.
The Remnant Fellowship church released an official statement paying tribute to all the slain founding members of the church stating that they lost some of the world’s finest and most loving human beings that they could come across. Church vowed to continue the mission of the founders despite the death of its leaders as well as the founder.
Lara’s children Michael Shamblin and Elizabeth Shamblin Hannah vowed to continue the dream of their parents by helping people strengthen their relationship with God.
They both thanked everyone for coming forward and assisting them in these trying times. They asked for prayers for the deceased as well as the family members who are left behind to cope up with the pain of losing their loved ones.
According to the diving teams from the local emergency, agencies found remains of humans from the crash site as well as the remains of the plane from the debris in Percy Priest lake.
Rutherford county fire captain and incident commander John Ingle stated that the debris was spread over approximately half a mile distance as the recovery efforts continued with the aid of flying drones.
Rutherford County fire rescue captain Joshua Sanders extended his condolences to the families and friends of the deceased who lost their lives in this incident.
According to a recording between the pilot and the control tower which was captured on liveATC.com, an alarm went off in the cockpit just seconds before the crash directing the investigation towards a mechanical failure of the aircraft.
According to the FAA investigation, none of the onboard people were qualified to fly an aircraft. Lara had a pilot license but it hasn’t been renewed since 2017 whereas Brandon Hannah also possessed a pilot license but he did not have certifications for the Cessna series.
Local agencies persuaded the boaters to stay away from the crash site on Percy Priest Lake as the combined rescue operation continued from Rutherford County, Nashville, and Wilson County.
