LONGMONT, Colo.—The pilot of a vintage military transport told investigators it was running rough before it crashed two weeks ago, and one engine had been temporarily shut down to simulate failure, federal investigators said.
Stanley Peterson was seriously injured in the July 19 crash of the 56-year-old Beech C-45H southeast of Longmont, the National Transportation Safety Board report said.
Co-pilot David Gianakos suffered minor injuries. The plane was destroyed.
Authorities said Peterson, 64, of Boulder was serving as a flight instructor for Gianakos, 52, of Littleton. They were the only ones aboard.
Peterson had turned off the right engine to simulate a failure when the left engine began running rough, so the crew turned the right engine on again, the NTSB said.
“Shortly thereafter, both engines began running rough to the point that further flight could not be maintained,” the report said.
Neither Peterson nor Gianakos immediately returned telephone messages Wednesday.
The NTSB’s undated preliminary summary, posted on the agency’s Web site, was reported in Wednesday’s editions of the Longmont Times-Call.
The plane had taken off from Hudson, about 20 miles east, at about 8:45 a.m. on July 19 and was en route to Boulder Municipal Airport, the NTSB said.
Witnesses said the plane clipped some trees, hit the ground, slid about 100 yards across a county road and toppled a power pole before stopping.
The plane was owned by the Commemorative Air Force’s American Airpower Flying Museum in Midland, Texas.
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On the Net:
NTSB preliminary report:
