An NTSB preliminary report says the pilot of a small plane that crashed at a North Carolina airport runway raised a wheel after landing to avoid hitting a turtle.

A small private plane tried to dodge a turtle on a North Carolina runway before crashing into a wooded area earlier this month, killing the pilot and a passenger on board, officials said. The pilot of the Universal Stinson 108 was attempting to touch down at Sugar Valley Airport just before noon on June 3 when a communications operator advised that the shelled reptile was on the runway,

A private plane crashed in North Carolina on June 3, after the pilot attempted to avoid hitting a turtle on the runway, according to a newly-released NTSB report.