The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released the preliminary report for its ongoing investigation of the September fatal plane crash that occurred near the Daviess-Ohio County line just outside of Whitesville. The report shows the instructor pilot was in contact with air traffic control in the minutes before the crash, saying the plane was “getting blown around like crazy” and there was “pretty extreme turbulence.”
The accident occurred at approximately 10:49 p.m. on September 27.
The Piper PA-28-161 was destroyed, and both the flight instructor and student pilot were fatally injured. Though the report doesn’t include their names, the instructor was previously identified as 22-year-old Timothy McKellar Jr., of Custer, and the flight student was identified as 18-year-old Connor W. Quisenberry, of Beaver Dam.
The airplane was operated by Eagle Flight Academy as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight, according to the report.
Per the report, the plane was on the return portion of a night cross-country flight.
Data indicated that the airplane departed Bowling Green-Woodhurst Airport (BWG) around 9:55 p.m. According to NTSB, the airplane climbed to 4,500 feet and proceeded on a northwesterly course toward Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport (OWB) on a visual flight rules flight plan.
“A post to the flight instructor’s social media account at [10:15 p.m.] (about 34 minutes before the accident) depicted an annotated image from a mobile-device-based aviation navigation tool. The image depicted the airplane’s current position northwest of Bowling Green, Kentucky, along with the planned route of flight to OWB. Weather radar imagery was also displayed in the image, which had been annotated with a circle around the flight track and nearby weather radar returns,” according to the report.
The image below is from the report.
The report reads:
“According to preliminary air traffic control (ATC) voice communications, the pilot contacted ATC at [10:44 p.m.] and the controller advised the pilot of heavy to extreme precipitation at the airplane’s nine o’clock position. ADS-B data showed that the airplane continued its northwesterly course and about two minutes later, the flight instructor requested an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance. The controller issued the clearance and provided an easterly vector to assist the flight in getting out of the weather. The flight instructor stated to the controller that the airplane was ‘getting blown around like crazy,’ and the airplane’s flight track showed a turn to the northwest followed by a right circling turn. The controller reiterated the heading of 090º, and the flight instructor responded that they were in ‘pretty extreme turbulence.’ The flight track showed a continuing right descending turn, and no further communications were received from the flight instructor. The airplane’s last ADS-B position, at [10:49 p.m.], was at an altitude of 2,200 ft and about 1,000 ft northwest of the wreckage debris field, which spanned 25 acres in a hilly, densely wooded area.”
According to the report, all major components of the airplane, except for the left portion of the stabilator, were located in the debris field. The report also gives a detailed analysis of the examination of the debris.
The report notes that “no anomalies were noted during examination of the engine cylinders with a lighted borescope,” and “examination of the engine did not reveal any preaccident anomalies or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.”
The full report can be read below:
