A Georgia chiropractor and former Navy SEAL died Thursday after the small plane he was flying crashed during an attempt to land at a rural airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash, which occurred in Wayne County.
The impact killed the pilot, who was the only person aboard the plane, officials said. The pilot has been identified as Howard Wasdin.
“Wasdin was a chiropractor in the county seat of Jesup. Before that, he served in the U.S. Navy as a member of the elite SEAL Team Six. In 2011, Wasdin co-authored a memoir about his military service titled ‘SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper,’” Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
“Wasdin served 12 years in the Navy, including nine years as a SEAL. He was medically retired after being wounded in the 1993 battle in Mogadishu, Somalia, later featured in the book and film ‘Black Hawk Down,’” the outlet added.
