ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - According to a National Transportation Safety Board report, the sole survivor of a plane crash in the northern part of the Alaska Panhandle told investigators the pilot intentionally shut off one of the aircraft’s engines prior to the crash.
Chan Valentine, the only survivor of the May 27 crash, told authorities pilot David Kunat was attempting to show the passengers a piloting procedure just prior to impact.
“About 20 minutes into the flight the pilot intentionally shut down the right engine and was demonstrating how to restart the engine during flight,” according to the NTSB report, which is comprised of preliminary findings and is not a definitive conclusion.
Valentine reportedly told investigators that, after shutting down the engine on purpose to illustrate how a pilot can then restart it, “the engine would not rotate through with electrical power to start the engine,” KTUU-TV reported (https://bit.ly/2sfwU5O ).
Unsuccessful attempts were then made to “air-start” the engine, by climbing in altitude and then diving the airplane down to “use airflow to assist in rotating the engine.”
The NTSB said the investigation “revealed impact damage consistent with a right wing-down, nose-down airplane attitude during ground impact.” Officials said the wreckage was recovered for further examination.
Kunat and Stanley Su Quoc Nguyen both died in the crash.
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