The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a two-page preliminary report into last Thursday’s deadly plane crash in Osage Beach. The crash killed the pilot and one passenger.
The NTSB report says the agency’s examination of the crash site’s wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation.
The NTSB says the flight’s purpose was to take two passengers on a flight around the Lake of the Ozarks to view scenery. Shortly after the plane took off, witnesses say the airplane’s tail was lower than the nose. Witnesses say the plane “banked” to the right and impacted a heavily-wooded area. The NTSB says those witnesses did not report any abnormal noises coming from the plane.
The crash happened just before noon that day, and the weather was dry. The crash killed 22-year-old Hayden Michael Ritchhart of Carrollton and 19-year-old Evan Vandiver of Richmond. It also seriously injured a 54-year-old passenger.
The NTSB says the pilot flew the plane from its home base in northwest Missouri’s Carrollton to the Grand Glaize Osage Beach airport last Wednesday morning. The plane did not refuel at the Osage Beach airport, according to the report. The plane crashed on Thursday morning at about 11:55, shortly after takeoff.
The NTSB’s investigation continues.
