Report describes flight before plane crash that killed Baton Rouge plastic surgeon and his children

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (BRPROUD) – A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board describes the flight in the moments before the plane crash that killed a Baton Rouge plastic surgeon and his two children in Tennessee.

Flight data overlaid on a weather radar scan at the time of the accident shows the plane apparently swerved to avoid the rain and increased speed before witnesses heard a bang and the plane began to break apart in the air.

Dr. Lucius Doucet took off from the Louisiana Regional Airport in Gonzales in a single-engine Beechcraft V35 shortly before 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 15. His two children, Giselle and Jean-Luc Doucet, were both scheduled to graduate from LSU just days after the fatal crash.

According to the NTSB, Doucet purchased the Beechcraft V35 in December 2023. A review of his pilot logbook revealed that he had 366 hours of flight experience, including 14 hours in the accident aircraft model.

The plane crashed in the southwestern part of Williamson County around noon. According to the report, it was en route to Louisville, Kentucky, to pick up another passenger before returning to the Louisiana Regional Airport.

Doucet was in contact with the Memphis Air Route Traffic Control Center before approaching Nashville International Airport air traffic controller’s airspace, according to the report. The report states that Doucet “requested a deviation from the ARTCC air traffic controller, which was relayed to the BNA approach air traffic controller before communications transitioned from the ARTCC to the BNA approach.”

The deviation was approved by the ARTCC. Doucet also requested a higher altitude, which was discussed and approved by the ARTCC controller, the report said.

According to the report, Doucet’s last contact with air traffic control was after he was asked to descend from an altitude of 9,500 feet to an altitude of 9,000 feet.

The report said: “Preliminary weather data indicated that while on the 360-degree course, the aircraft entered an area where moderate to heavy rainfall was forecast.”

The plane briefly descended to 8,900 feet (2,710 meters). From there, it made a right turn to the northeast and flew several kilometers before making a sharp right turn with a descent of 213 degrees, the report said.

“The air traffic controller made several attempts to contact the pilot, but these remained unanswered and shortly thereafter radar contact was lost,” the report said.

At the time of the crash, the aircraft’s ground speed decreased to 43 knots and its vertical speed reached a descent rate of over 15,000 feet per minute.

“Several witnesses described hearing the aircraft descend and hearing a loud ‘pop.’ One witness recorded video showing parts of the aircraft descending through the overcast clouds,” the report said.

The wreckage stretched for more than half a mile and parts were found underwater.

The severed elevators were the first pieces of wreckage to be recovered. Both wings separated from the fuselage and were recovered 2,000 feet west of the beginning of the debris trail.

According to the report, fragments of the main fuselage, seats and instrument panels were also recovered. The engine and propeller assembly were “the last parts discovered at the end of the debris trail where the aircraft impacted a lake.”

The report states: “90% of the aircraft was recovered.”

According to the NTSB, it could take nine months to a year for the final report on the plane crash to be available.

Read the full report below.

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