The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a preliminary report on a plane crash that took the lives of two men last month in Connecticut.
The Hartford Courant reports that Robert J. Plourde, 61, and George R. Janssen II, 51, were out for a pleasure flight on April 18 in a 1946 Luscome 8A airplane owned by Plourde, who was the pilot that day. Both of the men had hundreds of hours of pilot time in single-engine planes and up-to-date pilot licenses.
According to the NTSB plane crash report, the weather was clear that evening when the plane took off from Skylark Airport. A witness who was watching the sky from the runway at the time told investigators that the plane appeared to be flying lower and slower than nearby planes when it passed above him. Next, he said, the plane began to shake and tip to the left and right before it made a “drastic, sharp, and abrupt” turn to the north. After that, the witness said he could no longer hear the plane’s engine, then the plane “dropped like a stone.”
After its initial climb, the plane hit trees and suffered substantial damage. It then came to rest about a half-mile from the airport in a wooded area, where it was found nose-down and inverted after about 15 minutes of searching by firefighters. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
Shortly after this plane crash, a report by a local Fox affiliate said that it appeared to witnesses as though the plane stalled mid-air. A neighbor of the privately-owned airport said, “It just sounded like it was dead, the motor just killed, just shut off, that was it. It’s heartbreaking.”
While the full NTSB investigation into this plane crash may take a year or more to complete, all preliminary information points to a likely mechanical failure as the cause of this aviation accident. When this is the case, an experienced plane crash attorney can conduct thorough research into plane history, maintenance, storage, and even pilot history to determine whether any negligence played a role in the tragedy. If negligence, perhaps by aircraft parts manufacturers or maintenance crew, then it is possible to hold all negligent parties accountable for the losses, suffering, and other damages of victims and their loved ones.
If you have suffered injury or the wrongful death of a loved one in a plane crash, our attorneys will help you fight to ensure justice is served. To learn more about aviation accident lawsuits, please contact us for a free and confidential consultation.