One dead in small plane crash near border of Guilford and Randolph counties

One person was killed and another critically injured when an experimental plane they were in crashed in southeastern Guilford County.

The crash occurred around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. The plane departed from Greensboro Executive Airport in Climax just off of Monnett Road near the Guilford/Randolph county border. It didn’t get far, crashing where Monnett crosses southbound US-421.

The overturned wreckage came to rest on a slope leading from the bridge toward the highway.

Local emergency officials were tight-lipped about what happened, pending an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. 

Chief Chris Sizemore of the Southeast Volunteer Fire Department would not say if the plane struck the bridge before crashing. But the state Department of Transportation had people on site evaluating the bridge.

The owner of the small airport where the plane departed described it as an experimental aircraft built from a kit.