The Bibb County man whose plane crashed early Wednesday in Twiggs County told investigators that he'd been awake for four or five days before the accident.
According to online records, his plane, a Cirrus SR22, is owned by a Delaware company. Online flight records show that he took off around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday from New Haven, Connecticut and flew non-stop to Macon, when the plane went off the radar.
FAA Safety Inspector Steven Davidson said the plane had a parachute. “It will deploy a parachute that safely lands them on the ground,” said Davidson.
Robert Buzzell released the parachute and landed in the woods near the Wolf Creek Landfill, authorities say.
They say Buzzell was not hurt, and left the crash before deputies got there. Officials said he got a ride home from a family member. He turned up several hours later at his home in Lizella.
Davidson said he tried to talk to Buzzell about what happened.
“He was under a lot of stress and in shock from what I can tell,” said Davidson. “So he's still unsure about what actually happened.”
Buzzell also said "he had been recovering from a heroin episode or some complication from an addiction," according to an incident report from the Twiggs County Sheriff's Office.
Buzzell's father, Sam Buzzell, didn't want to speak to 13WMAZ on camera on Thursday, but did say that his son was recovering and that everything that happened was just "setting in."
Sam Buzzell also said that his son's wife, Kate Buzzell, was watching her husband's plane on radar until she saw it disappear.
"I mean, can you imagine?" Sam Buzzell said.
An incident report from the Twiggs County Sheriff's Office says Buzzell told them he'd been awake for four or five days when the accident happened, and he was recovering from past drug problems.
The Federal Aviation Administration took the plane to Griffin, Georgia for inspection. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
