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Gwinnett County plane crash victims identified
Gwinnett County plane crash victims identified
Gwinnett County plane crash victims identified

Published on: 11/12/2026

Description

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Officials have identified the men who died and were injured in a Gwinnett County plane crash on Tuesday.

The Gwinnett County Medical Examiner identified the man as Eric Stephens, 57, of Roswell.

The man injured has now been identified as Peter Magnuson.

Stephen’s was a longtime member of Roswell United Methodist Church. Wednesday, the pastor held a prayer service for grieving family and friends.

“I’ve never met someone who has a passion for Jesus in the way that Eric did. He not only had a passion for Jesus. He had a passion for introducing people to Jesus. When Cammie and I talked about this, she said Derrick, if you can tell people how much Eric loved the lord and invite people to love the lord, that’s what Eric would want people to know right now,” Pastor Porter told Atlanta News First.

RELATED: Community mourns man killed in plane crash

Stephens now leaves behind a wife and 2 daughters and was also the founder of zPaper, a Roswell-based health technology company.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our founder, Eric Stephens, Ph.D.,” the company said in a statement. “Eric built zPaper over 20 years and was a mentor and friend to everyone here.”

According to Gwinnett County police, the single-engine plane crashed around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in a wooded area near the 1000 block of Old Athens Highway, about a mile southeast of Gwinnett County Airport.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 1 person dead, 1 injured after plane crashes in Gwinnett County

Stephens died at the scene, while another man, identified as Peter Magnuson, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Roswell United Methodist Church took to social media to offer prayers for Stephens, his wife Cammie and two daughters. They also offered the sanctuary and chapel for worshippers to pray.

Gwinnett County Fire & Emergency Services crews extracted the two occupants from the plane. Fire officials said the aircraft was trying to land when it crashed.

The plane was a Velocity-173 FG, which is sold as a kit for the owner to build themselves. Air traffic control audio shows the pilot declared an emergency and said he had a “rough engine.”

Eric Stephens, 57, died in the Gwinnett County plane crash.
Eric Stephens, 57, died in the Gwinnett County plane crash.(Atlanta News First)

“It looks like we’re going in the trees,” he said.

Jenny Constantino lives about 20 miles away from the crash site and said she witnessed the unimaginable, an airplane in distress flying over her home. She took a photograph, which shows what looks like a fireball falling out of the sky.

“Me and my oldest daughter went out and looked up, and we could see an airplane and the back part of it on fire,” Constantino said. “So, we just kind of watched, and you could see it going down.”

A homeowner living across the street from the crash site, Seth Bielstein, said he noticed the wreckage after returning home from work moments after the crash and called 911.

“I yelled hello a few times and there was no response, and that’s when I called 911, and the first responders were here within just a few minutes,” Bielstein said.

The incident is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), who was on scene Wednesday afternoon. Atlanta News First learned from the NTSB that the investigator working the crash said he does not have any indication that the plane was on fire prior to crashing. The next update will be the preliminary report within 30 days.

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First as we learn more.

Copyright 2026 WANF. All rights reserved.

News Source : https://www.walb.com/2026/11/12/man-who-died-gwinnett-county-plane-crash-identified/

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