The Elizabethton Fire Department along with officers from the Elizabethton Police Department were dispatched to the airport shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday after the plane left the runway.

“My understanding is they were coming in for a landing on some sort of training exercise and skidded off the runway,” EPD Chief Greg Workman said.

The pilot was the only person onboard the aircraft at the time and was not injured in the crash, Workman said.

Firefighters responded to the scene to ensure safety due to the possibility of fire at the accident and the presence of fuel.

“We just had a little fuel leakage out of one of the vent tubes on the fuel tank,” EPD Capt. Steve Murray said. “We just stopped the fuel leak and secured the scene.”

No fire occurred as a result of the accident, Murray said, adding the pilot killed the electrical and fuel switches on the plan after the accident.

Once the fuel leak was taken care of, Murray said the fire department and police department were maintaining the security of the scene.

“The FAA is coming in to investigate,” Murray said, adding investigators were coming from Rockwood on the far side of Knoxville and were expected to arrive late Saturday afternoon.

Around 2:15 p.m. the fire department cleared the scene, leaving police officers and airport personnel to keep the accident scene secure.

The runway at the airport remained shut down following the accident.

“We are just waiting on the FAA to arrive and do their initial investigation,” Carter County Emergency Management Agency Director Gary Smith said. “After that we can get the plane moved. They can’t move the aircraft until after the FAA completes their initial investigation and gets their photographs.”

An airport employee said the airport had nothing official to release and directed all media inquiries to Airport Manager Dan Cogan. Messages left for Cogan were not returned Saturday afternoon.

The name of the pilot has not been released at this time.