DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — The pilot who died in a plane crash on I-85 in Davidson County served his country proudly.
The pilot, Raymond John Ackley, from Charlotte, was a veteran. While in service he was an officer in the North Carolina Army National Guard. He was deployed to Kuwait and Afghanistan in 2011-12. He honorably resigned in 2014.
Ackley was killed after his plane crashed into a tractor-trailer on I-85 Thursday night after taking off from the Lexington-Davidson County Airport. The impact caused a fire and the tractor-trailer to overturn. The tractor-trailer driver, Barrin Lamont Davis, from Concord, was taken to Lexington Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.
The FAA said the plane was a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron. The Aviation Safety Network said these types of planes have been involved in two other crashes this year - one in Missouri and another in Brazil.
It'll be much longer before officials learn what caused the crash. NTSB officials said a full investigation can take up to two years to be completed.
