Preliminary report released on plane crash in Western Ky. that killed 2
WHITESVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) — The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on a plane crash in Western Kentucky that killed a flight instructor and student pilot last month.
The report details the flight path, weather conditions, social media posts, air traffic control voice communications and more.
On Sept. 27, a Piper PA-28-161 was destroyed when it was involved in a crash near Whitesville, and both people on board were killed. The plane was operated by Eagle Flight Academy as an instruction flight, the report says.
The instructor and student pilots were on a return portion of a night cross-country flight and it was their first time flying together. The plane departed the Bowling Green-Woodhurst Airport en route to the Owensboro/Daviess County Regional Airport around 10:49 p.m.
The report also details a social media post made by the flight instructor, later identified by Kentucky State Police as Timothy McKellar, about 34 minutes before the crash depicting an annotated image from a mobile-device-based navigation tool. The image (posted above) showed the plane’s position northwest of Bowling Green along with the planned route to Owensboro and the weather radar imagery displayed, all within a red circle.
According to preliminary air traffic control voice communications, McKellar contacted ATC at 10:44 p.m. and the controller advised him of “heavy to extreme precipitation” near the plane.
The student pilot, identified by KSP as Connor Quisenberry, continued to fly for another two minutes when the McKellar requested an instrument flight rules clearance — which is essentially where the controller tries to provide a way for the pilots to “get out of the weather.”
McKellar said the plane was “getting blown around like crazy” and they were in “pretty extreme turbulence.”
The flight track showed a continuing right descending turn, and no further communication was received from McKellar, the report says. All major components of the plane, except for the left portion of the stabilator, were located in the debris field which spanned about 25 acres in a hilly, densely wooded area; it was all collected for further examination.
Preliminary inspection shows the engine didn’t reveal “any pre-accident anomalies or malfunctions” that would have precluded normal operations for the plane.
To read the full report, head here:
Preliminary NTSB report of Whitesville, Ky. plane crash
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