Note: This story has been updated with new information about the location of the crash and the address of the victim.
CRITTENDEN COUNTY, Ark. (WREG) — One person died following a plane crash Tuesday morning near the Mississippi River.
The victim was later identified as 62-year-old Malcolm King of Hernando, Mississippi, according to a Shelby County spokesperson.
It happened around 9 a.m. Tuesday. The area where the plane went down is on the west side of the Mississippi River, surrounded by Crittenden County, Arkansas, but is part of Shelby County, Tennessee.
King had an address in Hernando, Mississippi, but WREG later learned that he lived in East Memphis and owned a business in north Shelby County. His fiancee confirmed he owned Downtown Memphis Aviation, which is a flight school at DeWitt Spain Airport.
Escaping the freedom of the air is a joy Adrienne Grammer says her fiance loved deeply.
“He’s been flying every day since 2002,” she said.
She had no idea when she saw King Tuesday morning he would be taking his last flight.
“I told him goodnight and I gave him a hug and a kiss. and he said I love you good night,” Grammer recalled. “His last text message to anybody was ‘I’m landing in 30 minutes. I love you sweetie have a good day.'”
King was in a single-engine Cessna 162 plane when he took off from DeWitt-Spain Airport near downtown Memphis and crashed in a farm field near Dacus Lake, according to the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department.
The FAA said he was the only person on the plane.
A spokesperson for Memphis International Airport told WREG King owned Downtown Aviation, a flight school housed at DeWitt Spain Airport where his plane departed.
His fiancé said the two just got engaged last year and were set to marry in November. She says he was a father and an extremely hard worker.
“He was very very sweet, very generous, very loving to everybody, and very passionate about aviation,” Grammer said.
As the investigation unravels, she’s finding solace in knowing he died doing what he loved.
“I just know he would want me to be happy and to keep going like he did when he was here,” Grammer said.
The NTSB said the agency is investigating the crash and a preliminary report will be out in about two weeks. However, it could be a year or more before a cause is released.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Department is also assisting NTSB and FAA in the crash investigation.
This is the second plane crash in Eastern Arkansas in the past few days. Friday, a crop duster crashed in Poinsett County, injuring one person.
