NTSB: Pilots of Medical Plane at Fault
The NTSB blames the pilots of a medical transport plane that crashed into Lake Michigan in 2007.
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A review by the National Transportation Safety Board determined the pilots of a medical transport plane that went down in Lake Michigan two years ago were at fault.
The two pilots were among the six people killed. The investigation also revealed the captain's checkered history.
When the Cessna Citation crashed into Lake Michigan off of McKinley Marina, it disintegrated. It took searchers weeks to recover the pieces of the plane and the bodies of the six people aboard.
At the time, investigators knew the pilot and co-pilot had an on-board emergency -- trouble stabilizing the plane.
They've now concluded that the emergency could have been avoided.
At a National Transportation Safety Board hearing on Wednesday in Washington, investigators released their findings.
"The probable cause of this accident was the pilot's mismanagement of an abnormal flight control situation through improper actions including failure to control airspeed and prioritize control of the airplane, and lack of crew coordination," said Dr. David Mayer of the NTSB.
In other words, as the head of the NTSB told 12 News on Wednesday in an exclusive interview, an undetermined problem with the controls became an emergency only because the pilots didn't respond properly.
"We believe that regardless of what the precipitating event would have been for this accident scenario, if they had focused on controlling this aircraft and maintaining an airspeed that would've allowed them to return to the airport, this accident would have had a far different outcome," said NTSB Chairman Debbie Hersman.
The crash killed four members of the University of Michigan organ transplant team. The university released a statement Wednesday reading in part:
"'We hope this review will help prevent such incidents around the country so that no other medical institution, and no other families will have to face such a loss."
The investigation revealed the captain was a convicted drug-runner, but he was still legally certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly the plane at the time of the crash.
The report also blames the FAA for lax oversight, saying the first officer was too inexperienced, and the captain had a reputation for cutting corners.
