JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (WKBW) — The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on the plane crash in Jamestown on August 5.
According to the NTSB, the Cessna 750 departed the Chautauqua County Dunkirk Airport (DKK) and was headed to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to collect parts and a mechanic for work on another company airplane at DKK. The NTSB said data revealed that the pilots climbed the airplane to 10,000 ft mean sea level and then the controller attempted to contact the flight crew multiple times but received no reply. The controller then began transmitting on the emergency frequency and noted that the flight displayed an emergency transponder code as it descended through 7,800 ft. The Buffalo controller then established intermittent contact with the flight crew that included “very garbled” transmissions and the last transmission from the flight crew included “we are about to land at Jamestown.” The NTSB said the plane impacted the ground in a flat attitude about 200 ft before the approach end of the runway.
The pilot was seriously injured and the copilot sustained minor injuries.
On the day of the crash, officials said crews at the airport noticed the plane and immediately made a call to respond and the emergency response plan immediately went into effect.
According to the NTSB, the pilot was not available for an interview due to his injuries but the copilot reported that as they climbed they smelled “electrical smoke,” but there was no visible smoke. The NTSB said as they descended through about 10,000 ft, the copilot said he heard the “clacker” for the pitch trim and that the airplane was “trimming down and accelerating… well over 250 [knots] with the nose trimming down.” The “Master Caution” and panel segments illuminated along with other Crew Alerting System (CAS) messages and the co-pilot tried to contact the controller but was unable to.
The NTSB said after landing the cabin was filled with smoke and the airplane was surrounded by fire. The pilot was able to open the main cabin door and both crewmembers were able to exit the plane.
You can read the full preliminary report from the NTSB below.
