Plane crash victims had Steinhatchee ties

Posted on December 30, 2016

Steinhatchee friends are mourning the deaths of part-time residents David Starling, 41, and Kim Smith, 42, who—along with Starling’s eight-year-old son Hunter—were killed when their single-engine plane crashed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Monday, Dec. 26.

A news release from the National Park Service said the three were onboard the plane and that there were no survivors.

PHOTO: According to a preliminary report from the FAA, the single-engine plane that crashed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park slammed into a mountainside at 5,400 feet as the pilot descended to land at the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport. There were no survivors. On board were pilot David Starling, his girlfriend Kim Smith and Starling’s eight-year-old son, Hunter.

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