MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary review of a crash that killed a small airplane pilot last month in Middlebury found that the plane’s engine “skipped” and “sputtered” before going down.
The Burlington Free Press reports (https://bfpne.ws/2iORgyk ) federal investigators also reported that the wings of the single-engine Piper PA28 that crashed Dec. 23 had “wagged” during its initial climb after takeoff.
Forty-two-year-old Paul Bessler was the only person aboard the propeller-driver aircraft when it went down approximately 300 feet from the departure end of the runway at Middlebury State Airport.
The NTSB’s three-page preliminary report, made public earlier this week, failed to determine what caused the crash. A final report is pending.
The New York man held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land.
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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com
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