Saratoga Man Survives Plane Crash

It was a beautiful day in North Carolina for Jeff Beasley. 

On March 8, the 47-year-old resident of Saratoga Springs was in Indian Trail, North Carolina visiting his family for his sister’s birthday when he decided to go up in a small plane with his nephew, Nathan. The 21-year-old had just received his pilot’s license and was excited to show off his skills to his family. Beasley volunteered to go up first. 

After completing pre-flight checks, the two had just taken off when Beasley noticed something was wrong. 

“I noticed something, it just felt like the thrust wasn’t there,” Beasley said. “About the same time my nephew made the comment, ‘uh oh.’” 

At that point both men noticed that the propellor on the single engine Piper 28 wasn’t spinning as fast and the engine appeared to be stalling. Beasley said that he and his nephew didn’t panic and instead focused on getting the plane down safely. Both of them struggled to find a place to land as most of the area surrounding the airport was wooded. 

“Everywhere I looked, it was just thick woods, and I knew if we went into the woods, we were most likely not going to make it,” Beasley said. 

Beasley then spotted the place where they would eventually land — a cow pasture about a mile away from the airport in the opposite direction from where they took off. 

“I said, ‘Do you think we can get over there?’” Jeff recalls asking Nathan.  “And he said, ‘I don’t know, but we’re gonna try.’” 

At about 30 feet off the ground, they struck a tree which seared off the left side of the aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which released a preliminary report on the crash — something Beasley believes may have saved his life. 

“If we would have landed without interference, I think maybe we would have rolled that plane many times in the field because it’s a cow field, it’s not very smooth, and planes aren’t exactly known for their suspensions,” Beasley said. 

When the plane hit the ground, Beasley was slammed against the dashboard, resulting in a concussion, several broken rips, lacerations in his face, a possible bruised lung, and an air pocket between his chest and lung. He also lost four pints of blood in the ordeal. The force was so severe that his face broke the steel yoke of the aircraft, Beasley said.

His nephew suffered a broken hand, and a compression fracture in his back.

Beasley recalls being in and out of consciousness after the crash. He remembers hearing his nephew call out to him and telling his nephew to get up as he was lying face down in a cow pasture. He also remembers joking with the EMTs on the way to the hospital.

According to the Union County Sherriff’s Office, Nathan was airlifted to Atrium Hospital in Charlotte while Beasley was transported by ambulance.

The aircraft involved was a Piper PA-28 registered to JTS Aircraft LLC, a company based out of South Carolina. It first received its airworthiness certification in 1969, was overhauled in 2016 and passed its annual inspection as recently as Dec. 2025, according to the NTSB. 

Inspection of the aircraft after the accident showed it had no water or debris in the fuel tank, and the engine didn’t have any external signs of catastrophic engine failure. Prior to the accident the airframe had flown 2,200 miles since it was overhauled in 2016. 

Helping Beasley recover from the incident has been his longtime girlfriend, Tina Smith. Smith, who was in Las Vegas on a separate trip quickly rushed to Charlotte and was there within a day of the accident. Beasley said she’s been by his side ever since, helping him manage the pain and healing process.

“I wouldn’t be able to do without her,” Beasley said. “There’s been some bad nights where I can’t sleep, and I’m driving her crazy because she wants to sleep. I thank her so much for that. This has not been easy for her, and she’s just doing it all right now.” 

He’s also grateful for the outpouring of support from friends who have been dropping by with food and even offered to drive to Charlotte to bring him back to New York. 

While Beasley said he’s not afraid of flying, he doesn’t plan on flying in any small planes again — especially not ones made in the 60s. He said his nephew can’t wait to get back in the air despite the accident. 

Beasley said that at no point were either of them afraid they weren’t going to make it. While Beasley said he’s not afraid to die, he wants to be there for his kids and make sure he’s there for them. He said that the biggest message he got from the crash is to hug your loved ones, as cliché as it sounds.

“The things that mean the most to me in life are the simple ones,” Beasley said “It’s easy conversations on a Sunday morning, waking up and having breakfast with people you love. It’s packing my kid’s lunches and helping them with their homework, as aggravating as it might be, planning parties, playing golf trips and going on a boat. Lake George in the summertime. Life’s beautiful.”