Authorities have identified the man killed in a Wednesday afternoon aircraft crash near Statesboro as Harvey Cleveland, 55, of Peculiar, Missouri, the Bulloch County coroner confirmed.
The crash occurred around 3:00 p.m. near the intersection of Highway 24 and Sand Spur Road, roughly two miles from the local airport. Cleveland was piloting an amateur-built Airshark aircraft, an experimental amphibious plane capable of landing on water or land, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records. Only seven Airshark aircraft are registered in the United States, making it extremely rare.
While no “Harvey Cleveland” appears in the FAA Airman Registry, an Arnold Harvey Cleveland from nearby Kansas City, Missouri, is registered with the necessary private pilot licenses for the Airshark. The FAA classifies the aircraft as experimental, meaning it is a kit-built plane that requires significant labor from the builder and does not undergo the full certification process of production aircraft.
Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office Cpt. Todd Hutchens said authorities believe the plane may have been experiencing maintenance issues prior to the flight and was likely on a test flight before being delivered to another party in North Georgia.
An NTSB engine specialist visited the scene Thursday to assist in determining the cause of the crash. The wreckage is scheduled to be moved to Atlanta for further examination.
This marks the second fatal aircraft crash in Bulloch County in the past five years. In December 2021, Catherine Kloess, 61, of Zephyrhills, Florida, died when her small single-engine plane crashed near Jones Mill Road and Sandy Hill Lane. Witnesses at the time reported that the engine was unusually loud as the plane lost altitude and spiraled to the left shortly after takeoff.
Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Cleveland’s crash, and no further details have been released at this time.
