ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Two weeks after a small plane was forced to land on Interstate 26 near Asheville, NC, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released their Aviation Investigation Preliminary Report, which has provided more details about the crash.
Both occupants of the plane survived the crash. The flight instructor sustained minor injuries and the private pilot was seriously injured, the report said.
The instructor and pilot were in the midst of a cross-country flight when they started to feel a “shudder”, which then followed a loss of engine power. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and used the checklist to restart the engine. The engine restarted for a moment but lost power shortly after.
[ PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Flight instructor, student hurt after fiery plane crash on I-26 near Asheville ]
Prior to the landing, the airplane struck an energized power line, and the airplane impacted the ground. It then caught fire, according to the fire.
The airplane received its airworthiness certificate on September 25, 2023, and its last 100-hr maintenance inspection was completed on December 9, 2023.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the cause of the crash.
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