Brittany McAuley ('12C) was one of two victims who died in a plane crash in northwest Atlanta on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
The 23-year-old from Long Island, N.Y., was a passenger in a business jet when it went down at 7:25 p.m. near Bolton Road and I-285, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The Associated Press and other media outlets identified McAuley as a victim of the crash on Thursday, Dec. 19.
Peter Mallen, 67, was flying the plane when it struck a tree and veered to the right, then hit the ground and burst into flames, according to a preliminary report released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Mallen initially requested to return to Fulton County Airport in Atlanta soon after he took off en route to New Orleans, but he did not request assistance, the report says.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, according to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report. Media outlets have reported that the incident is currently under investigation.
McAuley graduated Emory with a bachelors degree in History, according to her LinkedIn page. She attended Islip High School.
In addition, McAuley worked as one of 67 interns at Chartis, a now-defunct subsidiary of American International Group, in summer 2011, where she won the Intern Social Innovation Challenge. As a result, she was granted an opportunity to work with a Chartis social media team.
Mallen, the pilot, was the CEO of Mallen Industries, an Atlanta-based textile company.
The plane destroyed in last week's crash was registered under Mallen's company and was manufactured by the Raytheon Aircraft Company, according to FAA records.
This was Mallen's second plane crash. In October 1998, he crash-landed a twin-engine plane in New Mexico on his way to Atlanta from Las Vegas, according to the AJC. He and the passenger both escaped injury.
The AJCalso reported that his brother Steven Mallen also died in a plane crash in 1972.
– By Jordan Friedman
If you knew Brittany McAuley, we would like to hear from you for an obituary we are working on. Feel free to email emorywheel@emory.edu.
