“He was the most the most amazing, generous person”: Granddaughter of Fitzgerald plane crash victim speaks out

FITZGERALD, Ga. (WALB) - The FAA is investigating why a small plane went down in a Fitzgerald neighborhood on Wednesday killing the pilot and injuring his passenger.

William “Jack” Sumner, 68, had years of experience as a pilot. Wednesday, he was flying with a man who was considering buying his plane — a 1946 ERCOUPE 415-C . It’s unclear what caused the crash, but a neighbor says the plane seemed to be having engine trouble.

“He was a fantastic pilot. He even got married in an airplane, and we were riding in the airplane with them as part of the marriage band. It was amazing. He was amazing,” Jacquelyn Payne, Sumner’s granddaughter, said. “He was the most the most amazing, generous person. He took me and my brother in, and he raised us most of our life. By far the most amazing man that I know.”

68-year-old William "Jack" Sumner married his wife in a plane. He loved to fly planes... — 68-year-old William "Jack" Sumner married his wife in a plane. He loved to fly planes throughout his life.(Source: WALB)

The plane ended up in the front yard of a home on East Suwanee Street near Monitor Drive. The passenger survived but was injured. He was flown to Tallahassee and is listed as stable.

“I didn’t hear the crash, but I heard the plane flying down low,” Linda Johnson, a woman who lives in the neighborhood where the plane crashed, said. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I came out and saw the plane crashed over in that ditch like that. My God. A plane has crashed, a plane has crashed! Oh my goodness. I was wondering was anybody in there, and I hoped if so, they were still alive.”

Investigators still haven’t determined what caused the plane to crash, but the family says they recently took the plane for its annual inspection. But the family is upset because many neighbors posted videos on social media immediately after the crash.

“To them, I understand it was just filming another one of the tragedies in this world. But to other people, it was watching on Facebook their grandpa’s last moments. And I really hope people think about that before they just film,” Payne said.

Fitzgerald Police Chief Williams Smallwood Jr. says investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board arrived in Fitzgerald on Thursday to investigate the cause of the crash.

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