The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that a two-seat plane crashed near an airstrip while taking off at the municipal airport in Collegedale on Friday.
Airport officials said the pilot was killed. He has been identified as 62-year-old Robert Gillisse, of Ooltewah.
Chris Swain, director of operations at Collegedale Municipal Airport in Hamilton County, said both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified and will investigate.
The newspaper reports that five other planes have crashed at the airport since 2004, resulting in 11 fatalities.
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