BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on the plane crash that killed attorney Steve Barnes and his niece, Elizabeth Barnes.
Barnes was the pilot of a single-engine Socata TBM-700 that was flying from Manchester, New Hampshire to Buffalo when the plane crashed around 11:45 a.m on October 2, 2020 in Corfu.
In its preliminary report released in October 2020, the NTSB said the plane departed the Buffalo Niagara International Airport at 7:47 a.m. and landed at Manchester Airport at 9:14 a.m. The plane then departed Manchester Airport at 10:19 a.m. and climbed to its cruising altitude where it remained until 11:42 a.m. and then crashed at 11:45 a.m.
In its final report released Friday, the NTSB said the probable cause of the crash was "the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane for undetermined reasons during the descent to the destination airport."
According to the report, there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have caused the plane to crash.
"All major components of the airplane were located in the vicinity of the main wreckage. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation," the report says.
The report says the pilot failed to contact air traffic control after a frequency change assignment but after about 25 minutes, and within 30 miles of the destination airport, the pilot contacted ATC on a different frequency. When giving the pilot instructions, the controller asked the pilot if everything was “okay,” and the pilot replied, “yes sir, everything is fine.”
The report continues on to say that the controller then observed the plane initiate a descent, about two minutes later the controller asked the pilot where he was headed and the pilot provided a "garbled" response. The controller then instructed the pilot to stop the descent and no response was received. Additional attempts to contact the pilot were unsuccessful and the plane crashed about 17 miles from the destination airport.
The following findings were included in the report:
"The investigation was unable to determine why the pilot was not in contact with ATC for 25 minutes. The pilot’s eventual contact with ATC about 30 miles from his intended destination, while still operating at his cruise altitude, suggests a clear breakdown in awareness of his position through distraction or impairment. However, upon re-establishing contact with ATC, the pilot’s communications were clear, nominal, and timely, which did not suggest impairment or use of an oxygen mask. Additionally, in response to a direct query from ATC the pilot did not indicate any difficulty. Further, there was no sign of airframe depressurization and examination of the wreckage did not reveal deployment of the passenger oxygen masks."
You can view the full report below.
Barnes Crash Ntsb Final Report by Sean Mickey on Scribd
