The pilot in a fiery Augusta airplane crash turned too sharply after takeoff before plunging fatally into a quiet neighborhood, investigators say.

Jason McKenzie, 45, had been Augusta University's associate director of philanthropy since 2020. First Baptist Church publicly identified him on the day of the crash, May 2, 2024, as the pilot and as a fellow worshipper.

Without naming the pilot, aviation investigators concluded that "excessive turn rate" combined with low altitude and slow speed stalled the single-engine turboprop shortly after it left Daniel Field, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final report.

Instead of landing in an apparent sudden return toward the airport, the Beechcraft Bonanza A36 crashed on the edge of west Augusta's Forrest Hills neighborhood,

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