Partial loss of engine power and a pilot’s subsequent reaction are to blame for a fatal, in Buena Vista that left a man dead, the National Transportation Safety Board has found.
The NTSB, in a final report , said one of the crash’s main probable causes was the pilot’s “failure to maintain control of the airplane during a forced landing following a partial loss of engine power, which resulted in a hard landing and nose over.”
Federal investigators said in the Nov. 29 report that the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined because of a serious, post-crash fire.
The pilot, from Buena Vista, died in the fiery crash. He was the only person aboard what the NTSB called an “amateur-built Seawind airplane.”
Witnesses told officials they heard the small aircraftap engine sputtering before the plane went down in an open field. “Witnesses near the accident site reported hearing the airplane’s engine running extremely rough and seeing the airplane’s wings rocking back and forth,” the factual report said.
Jones was heard making a mayday call over his radio before going down, but he did not elaborate on the nature of his emergency.
The NTSB said Jones was heading from Lake County Airport in Leadville to Central Colorado Regional Airport in Buena Vista when the plane crashed. He was four miles from the Buena Vista airport.
Investigators say they were told Jones made a trip from Central Colorado Regional Airport to the Lake County Airport in the hours before the crash.
