On the night of August 18, 2025, a tragic plane crash in a remote, wooded area of Lafayette County, Arkansas, claimed the life of 54-year-old Barry Boes, an Ooltewah, Tennessee resident and race car driver. Boes was piloting a single-engine aircraft traveling from Austin, Texas, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, when the crash occurred around 9:30 p.m., approximately two miles south of Bradley near Arkansas Highway 29.

The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a possible downed aircraft, and upon investigation, authorities confirmed Boes, the sole occupant of the plane, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Arkansas State Police have since handed the investigation over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to determine the cause of the crash.

Boes’ body was transported to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for further examination to establish the exact cause of death.