September 5th, 2024 – 1:35 PM

Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Press Release –

Paulding authorities responded to a report of a possible plane crash in a remote part of western Paulding County on Wednesday, September 4, 2024.

When responders arrived, they discovered a small airplane, later described as a 1974 Grumman American Aviation Corporation AA-5 fixed-wing single-engine aircraft, crashed nose down in a wooded area near 373 Crawford Road Rockmart, GA 30153 which lies within unincorporated Paulding County.

When the plane didn’t arrive back at the time it was supposed to, the owner of the aircraft contacted the authorities at approximately 1:43 PM to make its absence known.

The owner was able to track the plane to its last known location in the Crawford Road area of western Paulding County which is where responders began looking.

Once authorities located the plane, they tragically discovered both occupants deceased inside the aircraft.

The occupants of the aircraft have been identified as flight instructor Sungwook Lee (A/M, 27 YOA) of Daytona Beach, FL, and flight student Johnathan Lara (H/M, 27 YOA) of Powder Springs, GA.

Once Detectives looked at flight records, they were able to discover that the plane left the Paulding County Airport (PUJ) at 10:24 AM and was last seen on the flight tracker in the area of Crawford Road at 11:21 AM.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been in contact with the Sheriff’s Office and will be investigating why the plane crashed.

Detectives would like to encourage anyone who may have seen this plane or have any information about this incident to please contact the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at (770) 443-3047.