NTSB issues report on fatal St. Charles County plane crash

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ST. LOUIS–In a preliminary report issued Friday, federal investigators probing the January 8 plane crash in Defiance, Mo that killed two pilots heading for Denver say the debris path left behind stretched the length of more than three football fields.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the Beech 58 aircraft piloted by George King and Amanda Youngblood, both from Ohio, climbed to 8,000 feet after takeoff from Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield before descending. “Broken tree limbs indicated the airplane was in a steep descent at impact and the debris path was about 320 yards long,” the report states.

The pilots were flying for Airnet II, a Columbus, Ohio company that specializes in transporting dangerous cargo, but the plane was empty. They were heading for Denver to pick up cargo and return to St. Louis. NTSB investigators have previously said the pilots were certified for instrument flying in inclement weather. The flight plan filed indicated overcast skies with a ceiling of 1,000 feet. While investigators have said ice that night was not a factor, weather in general has not been ruled out.

Despite the extended debris field, it still took searchers two hours to find the wreckage in rugged terrain.

FOX2’s Andy Banker contributed information for this story

7 injured after F-35 jet crashes on aircraft carrier in South China Sea

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(CNN) The pilot of a US F-35 jet ejected as his jet crashed on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier in the South China Sea, injuring seven, the US Pacific Fleet said in a statement Monday.

The pilot was conducting routine flight operations when the crash happened. They safely ejected and were recovered by a military helicopter, Pacific Fleet said. The pilot is in stable condition.

Six others were injured on the deck of the carrier. Three required evacuation to a medical facility in Manila, Philippines, where they are in stable condition, according to Pacific Fleet. The other three sailors were treated on the carrier and have been released.

The cause of what the statement called a “inflight mishap” is under investigation.

A spokesman for the Navy’s 7th Fleet in Japan, Lt. Mark Langford, said Tuesday the impact to the Vinson’s flight deck was “superficial” and the warship and its air wing had resumed normal operations.

NTSB sheds new light on crash between plane and paraglider in Fulshear that killed two

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The paraglider and the plane’s pilot were killed when they collided, sending debris across at least three locations spread four miles apart.

FULSHEAR, Texas — We have new information about a deadly collision between a plane and a paraglider in Fulshear back in December.

A new NTSB reports say the paraglider wasn’t equipped with technology that would have it show up on an air traffic controller’s display, meaning the two were in the same airspace without knowing it.

The report also says one of the wings was ripped off the plane on impact.

“It was catastrophic,” aviation expert Josh Verde said. “It would not have been the type of crash where the pilot could’ve guided the plane down to a safe emergency landing, it was too severe in flight.”

The plane, which was contracted by UPS, had left George Bush Intercontinental Airport and was heading to Victoria.

NTSB issued Friday the preliminary report for its ongoing investigation of the Dec. 21, 2021, crash of Cessna 208B airplane near Fulshear, Texas. Download the report PDF at https://t.co/Cb6XPJ9nT7 — NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) January 21, 2022

The county medical examiner says the paraglider was 51-year-old Kenneth Tuttle. The pilot was identified as Robert Steven Gruss. Both died from blunt force trauma.

The crash scene was spread across at least three locations that are approximately four miles apart.

Verde studied the NTSB’s preliminary crash report on Friday.

According to the report, the paraglider did not have a transponder and was not detected by air traffic control radar.

“As long as the paraglider is operating from outside the 30 nautical mile ring from a major airport, there’s no requirement for it to have a transponder,” Verde said.

Verde said some radars allow for the sensitivity to be adjusted to detect smaller objects in the air – however, the screen quickly becomes cluttered.

He said the normal air traffic control setting would likely only pick up larger, metallic objects in the air, the size of a small car.

“It’s very, very unlikely if not impossible for the radar systems to see it and depict it on the screen as a possible collision hazard,” Verde said.

Verde advises pilots to continually look outside windows, although he said it’s difficult at times.

“The reality is, there are times when you have to direct your attention into the cockpit,” Verde said.

Verde said it appears that neither the pilot nor the paraglider was at fault.

“It may end up being that this crash was an unavoidable accident and there’s really nothing we can do to prevent this from happening again,” Verde said. “Other than telling people what happened and maybe advising them to keep a lookout.”

Mexico in brief: Two die in plane crash in Western Chihuahua

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Victims identified as flight school pilot and one of his students

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Two people died when a small airplane crashed and burned Sunday in a suburb of Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, El Heraldo de Chihuahua reported.

The victims included a flight instructor from the Manitoba Aviation School and a man who was taking flying lessons, the newspaper reported. The crash happened at 11:45 a.m. on the grounds of the aviation school, near milepost 23 of the Corredor Comercial Road in the town of Alvaro Obregon, according to El Heraldo, which published photos of the wreckage.

Mexican authorities identified the aircraft as a two-seat Van’s RV-6 single-engine airplane.

Mexico recorded 27 accidents involving aircraft during the first six months of 2021, but few of them were fatal. Cuauhtemoc is 290 miles south-shoutwest of El Paso, Texas.

79-year-old pilot airlifted after plane crash in Wisconsin

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YORKVILLE, Wis. (WFRV) – A small plane in southern Wisconsin hit a fuel tanker truck prior to lift-off, and the pilot ended up getting airlifted to a local hospital.

According to the Racine County Sheriff, on Jan. 18 around 11 a.m. authorities responded to the Sylvania Airport for an airplane crash. The plane reportedly crashed before take-off.

When deputies arrived they found a single-engine Cessna airplane that had ‘significant’ front-end damage near a fuel tanker truck. The airplane was leaking fuel, but there were reportedly no flames or smoke.

The pilot, and the only person in the plane, was identified as a 79-year-old man from Waterford. Authorities say he was conscious and breathing. He was taken to Froedtert Hospital via Flight-for-Life.

Photo courtesy of Racine County Sheriff

No information was given on the condition of the pilot.

Deputies determined that the plane’s wing hit the fuel tanker truck before lift-off. This caused the plane to spin around and crash head-on into the truck.

Local 5 will update this story if more details are provided.