Harrowing Nashville crash cockpit audio captures 'panicking' distress call from single-engine plane pilot - moments before it crashed in fireball on I-40 killing five on board

Harrowing cockpit audio captured the panicked final moments of a pilot as his aircraft's engines cut out within eyesight of an airport. 

The frantic pilot warned air traffic control his 'engine turned off' as he was nearing John C. Thune Airport in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday night, before crashing next to a highway in a fireball that killed the pilot and four others on board.  

'I'm too far away, I won't make it,' the pilot, who is yet to be named, told the operator - who desperately tried in vain to guide the aircraft to an emergency runway before the crash. 

'I'm at 1,600 (feet)... I'm going to be landing, I don't know where,' the pilot responded to their help.  

The deadly accident unfolded within three miles of John C. Thune Airport, and the plane was seen in shocking footage exploding into a fireball within meters of Interstate 40. 

Although miraculously no one on the ground were killed or injured in the crash, the Nashville Fire Department described the tragedy as 'catastrophic.' 

Harrowing cockpit audio captured the panicked final moments of a pilot as his single-engine aircraft's engines cut out within sight of John. C Thune Airport in Nashville 

Shocking footage showed the single-engine aircraft explode into a fireball by the side of a highway. Miraculously no one on the ground was hurt, however all five on board the plane lost their lives  

The minute-long audio appears to begin after the pilot sent out an emergency alert to air traffic control, as the operator asks the pilot: 'Do you still have John C Airport in sight?' 

'Not sure,' the pilot responds.

The operator names the aircraft by its phonetic name, 'Charlie, Foxtrot, Bravo, Whiskey, Hotel', throughout the audio.

'Are you trying to land at John Thune?' they ask. 

'My engine turned off,' the pilot answers. 'I'm at 1,600 (feet)... I'm going to be landing, I don't know where.' 

The air traffic controller says they are 'declaring an emergency', but reassures the panicked-sounding pilot they have the runway 'within shot.'

'Straight in runway 2, straight in runway 2 at John Thune, do you have the airport in sight?... you're clear to land,' the operator continues. 

Some have commented that the pilot appeared to sound inexperienced and more distressed than another may have been.

He is heard saying that he does have the airport 'within sight', but admits: 'I'm too far away, I won't make it.'

'Okay... uhhh,' the operator responds for a few seconds, before ordering the pilot to try and coast into the runway without the use of his engines. 

'See if you can glide in there, sir. Glide in, they're clearing the runway for you.' 

Nashville officials described the crash as 'catastrophic'  

The small plane went down shortly before 8pm Monday, exploding into a fireball near Interstate 40 as motorists drove past. 

It crashed behind a Costco store, and images showed the mangled remains of the aircraft smashed into the ground. 

Nashville resident and former city council member, James Hollin, said he was driving along I-40 after the time of the incident.

'My kids tried to rubber neck but couldn't make out what it was that burned so badly. They kept saying it wasn't a car and my mind didn't expect it to be a plane,' he told The Tennessean.

Witness Dion Burnley added in a Facebook live broadcast: 'I'd just seen this pane crash on I-40, it went down and it blew up. I thought it was a car that crashed.' 

Witnesses reported seeing the plane coming over the interstate from the north and crossing over the lanes, before hitting the grassy median.

Nashville International Airport spokesperson Stacey Nickens said the aircraft, a C-FBWH, left Mount Sterling, Kentucky around 7:19 p.m. and was set to arrive at John C. Tune Airport in Nashville around 7:43pm. 

Witnesses reported seeing the plane coming over the interstate from the north and crossing over the lanes, before hitting the grassy median

Shocking footage captured the moment the plane exploded into a fireball by the side of a highway, killing all five on board

Following the tragic accident, Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell paid his respects to the five people killed in the crash. 

'Our thoughts go out to the loved ones of all those on board the single-engine aircraft that crashed near Interstate 40 this evening,' he said on X.

'I want to thank the Metro emergency responders who were on site quickly and extinguished the fire.'

Metro Fire Department Public Information Officer Kendra Loney added: 'We are saddened by the loss of souls that were on board.

'We are proud of the work that everyone is doing to stabilize this incident and to make sure that there were no additional casualties.' 

The Nashville Fire Department has said their crews extinguished the blaze without destroying evidence relevant to the crash probes.

Loney added there were pieces of debris from the craft loose at the scene, but officials quickly cleaned them up so that drivers could keep moving.

Despite that, traffic delays are expected to continue in the area through at least Tuesday morning.