CROZET (WINA) – The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the April 15th crash of a Cessna 525 twin-engine plane into a mountainside… killing the Staunton pilot. The report says “night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed” as the crash happened shortly before 9pm as a tornado warning for the Crozet area expired. The report continues “there was no flight plan filed” for a flight that departedChesterfield County Airport around 8:35pm bound for Shenandoah County Regional Airport in Weyers Cave.
The aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 11,500 feet at 8:40pm, and started to descend at 8:44pm and leveled off at around 4300-feet and remained there until 8:53pm. The report says at that time, “it began a descending left turn until radar contact was lost at 8:54pm.
A witness said he heard the “screaming of engines” and felt the ground shake when the airplane “impacted the ground nearby”. The witness also described the cloud deck as “really low” with moderate winds and heavy rain at the time.
The report says 51-year old Kent Starr was instrument-flight trained and certified to land single- and multi-engine aircraft. There was no history of trouble with the aircraft with the latest “airworthiness inspection” March 1, 2017. There was no indication of trouble with plane, and the pilot made no communication with anyone of trouble.
The preliminary report does not make a definitive cause of the crash. It says the plane was destroyed.
Read the entire preliminary report by clicking here.
