ATLANTA — The National Transportation Safety Board has begun their investigation into what caused the deadly plane crash on Interstate 285 that claimed the lives of four family members headed to a college graduation.
Channel 2 Action News has confirmed that pilot Greg Byrd, his sons Phillip and Christopher, and Christopher's fiancée, Jackie Kulzer, were killed when the plane crashed Friday morning.
FAA records show the single engine Piper airplane took off from DeKalb Peachtree Airport just before 10 a.m. Friday before crashing minutes later on 285.
Records show the plane was headed to Oxford, Mississippi, where family members say they were going to attend the graduation of another one of Greg Byrd's sons at University of Mississippi.
NTSB Investigator Eric Alleyne says he is not looking for anything specific in the investigation, but will look at everything from mechanical failure to pilot error.
"I'm going to look at the maintenance that was last done on the aircraft," Alleyne said. "From what we understand the airplane just refueled over at Peachtree-DeKalb and also look at the pilot's experience."
The NTSB's investigation should last about two weeks, but will take six months to one year to release a full federal report.
Peggy Swicegood lost her former son-in-law and two grandsons in the crash. She said the impact of the loss hasn't hit her yet.
"They were just precious. Christopher and his fiancée -- Jackie -- they went to Ole Miss. They both were going to be 28 the day before they were (to be) married in October," Swicegood said. "What's little Robert going to do? He lost his two brothers and his dad."
Channel 2 Action News confirmed the flight had originated in Asheville, North Carolina, where pilot Greg Byrd lived. He flew to the Atlanta area to pick up Christopher and Jackie.
Greg Byrd served as a deputy and a detective for the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina from 1989 until his retirement in 2006. After he retired, Greg Byrd became a reserve deputy for the department.
"This is a tremendous loss for his family, this Sheriff's Office and the community," Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan said. "Greg was a very professional, dedicated public servant that continued to serve his community in a Reserve Deputy role."
According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, Greg Byrd and Hope Swicegood Byrd, the boys' mother, had divorced but remained close as they raised their three boys, said Lynn Kieffer.
"Greg had taken the plane out yesterday," said family friend Lynn Kieffer, apparently without issue. She described Greg as an experienced pilot.
His father, Grady, had originally planned to also fly to the graduation of his grandson, Robert, but changed his mind, she said.
The newspaper said Swicegood Byrd opted not to go to the graduation because her son was not walking in the ceremony.
Christopher Byrd worked as a real estate agent at a small property management firm in midtown Atlanta.
One of his co-workers told Channel 2's Lori Geary that he's still trying to grasp what has happened.
Nicholas Bowman said Byrd had worked at Cooper Brown Real Estate since October. He says the office is still trying to digest the news of the tragic crash.
Bowman said he knows how excited Byrd was to make the trip to Mississippi to see his little brother graduate.
"It was his on-call weekend and he was excited to go to his brother's graduation. They had this trip planned so I swapped with him to be able to make the trip so he wouldn't have to be bothered with work," Bowman said.
Bowman said Christopher brought his fiancée into the office once. He told Geary he didn't realize Kulzer was also on the plane.
"I did get to meet Jackie. She was also very nice and he spoke very highly of her," Bowman said. "To lose this many people in one family so tragically … I couldn't imagine."
Bowman said Cooper Brown is a small office and Christopher spent a lot of time in the field.
"We all seemed to really get along. He was a great addition to our team and it's going to be a great loss," Bowman said.
Bowman told Geary that Christopher and Jackie had picked out a venue and set a wedding date and were looking forward to their special day.
Jackie is a graduate of St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta.
The school said, "Jackie is remembered as a wonderful young lady, very popular, very energetic, out-going individual that was always concerned about others."
According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, Kulzer had not planned to attend, but finished her work as a CPA early, and was a late addition to the trip, hoping to surprise Robert.
In a statement from Kulzer's brother, Matt Bailey, he said:
"Our family wants to thank everyone for their prayers and support during this difficult time. The world lost four great souls today. Jackie and her fiancé Chris were incredible individuals who positively touched the lives of everyone they encountered. They will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to the Byrd family in Asheville, NC as they try to cope with the loss of three family members. Please pray for the Byrds and our family."
Channel 2 Action News will have team of reporters working to learn more details about this story throughout the weekend. Check back with WSBTV.com for updates as well.
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