DAWSON COUNTY, Ga. — The pilot killed in a Dawson County plane crash Monday night has been identified as a prominent plastic surgeon at both Grady Hospital and Emory Healthcare.
Emory Healthcare confirms Dr. Jack Culbertson died when his single-engine plane appeared to lose power over Dawson County and plunged into some woods. Witnesses called Dawson 911 when they heard the Piper PA-46 crash.
"I was on my deck when I heard it go into a dive," said one 911 caller. "It recovered, then it crashed. I heard a very loud crash, and then it went silent."
Culbertson worked at Emory and Grady as a plastic surgeon for more than 25 years, specializing in cancer reconstructive surgery and helping children born with deformities.
"Jack was a very special person," said his friend and colleague Dr. Grant Carlson of Emory Healthcare. "He took care of people other doctors couldn't."
Grady's Chief of Anesthesiology Dr. Raphael Gershon worked with and knew Culbertson for years. He saw the plane crash on TV and wondered if Grady would receive any of the trauma patients. He didn't know the crash killed his long time friend.
"We get a lot of trauma here at Grady," said Gershon. "I wondered if we were going to get any of it. The next day, we hear that it was Jack, and that's like, you don't know what to say. It's unbelievable."
Gershon said Culbertson was dedicated to both Emory and Grady.
"I think that speaks volumes for the type of person he is," Gershon said. "He had a huge allegiance to this hospital. He had a huge allegiance to the Emory system. He had a huge allegiance to the town."
Channel 2 Action News obtained records showing Culbertson had been involved in another accident involving this same plane back in January 2000.
NTSB records show Culbertson was flying home from Colorado in the same Piper PA-46 when it experienced engine failure over Arkansas. The report shows Culbertson hard-landed the plane in a field. Neither Culbertson nor any of the four other passengers were injured.
The NTSB ruled the probable cause of that crash was engine failure but could not make a determination as to what caused it.
WSBTV
