Pilot Killed in Cumberland Co. Plane Crash Reportedly Experienced Engine Trouble

The pilot who was killed in a plane crash Tuesday morning (5/25/21) in Cumberland County reportedly told his flight instructor that he was having engine trouble before his plane went down.  At first rescue crews did not know where the plane crashed and the search began near the Rockwood Airport and later expanded to Fairfield Glade and Clarkrange.  Cumberland County Sheriff’s Investigator David Hamby observed a large amount of smoke coming from the southeast area of Cumberland County between Highway 127 and Highway 68.  Investigator Hamby then noticed smoke visible on Old Highway 28.  It took several hours before crews were able to locate the wreckage of the plane behind a farm in the 2900 block of Old Highway 28.  The body of the pilot, identified as 35-year-old Vasile Gheland, of Knoxville,  was recovered and transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Nashville.  No one else was on the plane.