the Hamilton Standard propeller on the left engine had failed and the entire assembly had become dislodged, deforming the engine nacelle and distorting the wing's profile. Although the EMB 120, like all transport-category multi-engine airplanes, is designed to fly with one engine inoperative, the distortion of the engine resulted in excessive drag and loss of lift on the left side of the aircraft, causing it to rapidly lose altitude. The flight crew initially tried to return to Atlanta for an emergency landing, but the rapid descent resulted in them being diverted to West Georgia Regional Airport. The airplane was unable to stay in the air long enough and the pilots began searching for an open space to make an emergency landing, eventually settling on a field in Carroll County, Georgia, near the farming community of Burwell and the city of Carrollton. At 12:52:45, before the emergency landing could commence, the aircraft pitched over and began an uncommanded dive, striking the tops of the trees before it hit the ground nose first with a slight left bank, the force of which ripped off the weakened left wing. The aircraft skidded along the ground for some distance until it hit an incline in the field and briefly became airborne again, then fell back to the ground while yawing uncontrollably, before finally coming to a stop. The force of the final impact split the fuselage in half around the area where the wings were attached, rupturing its fuel tanks, which proved to be fatal during the evacuation of the plane. Casualties With the exception of the captain, all of the passengers and crew aboard Flight 529 survived the initial impact; the fatalities were the result of a postcrash fire. The fire started about one minute after impact, and an oxygen bottle behind the first officer's seat leaked, contributing to the strength of the fire. Despite a dislocated shoulder, First Officer Warmerdam used the cockpit fire axe to cut through the thick cockpit glass. Surviving passenger David McCorkell and Carroll County Sheriff Deputy Guy Pope later assisted by pulling the axe out of the cockpit through the hole Warmerdam had created and struck the glass from the outside to increase the size of the hole and help Warmerdam escape. The emergency crews successfully pulled Warmerdam out of the aircraft, but Captain Gannaway had suffered fatal injuries from the impact and succumbed to his wounds