The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued its preliminary report on the plane that crashed in Alaska last month and found that it was half a ton too heavy for the weather conditions.
The Bering Air single-engine plane collided with sea ice on Feb. 6, killing all ten people onboard.
Initial findings included that the commuter plane was too heavy for conditions that cause icing at the speed and altitude it was flying.
“Information about the cargo and overweight condition are part of the ongoing investigation, which is expected to be completed in 12 to 24 months,” NTSB spokesman Peter C. Knudson told NTD, sister media of The Epoch Times.
Federal investigators determined that the plane’s estimated gross weight, with all of its contents at departure, was about 9,865 pounds, which is 1,058 pounds over the limit for a flight when there are icy weather conditions in the forecast.
A final report has yet to be issued.
The pilot, Chad Antill of Ames, Iowa, held a commercial pilot certificate, had accumulated some 2,500 hours of flight time, and had flown about 58.4 hours within the preceding 30 days, and 4.4 hours within the preceding seven days.
Bering Air did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.
At the time of the crash, Bering Air Director of Operations David Olson said airport authorities had lost contact with the regularly scheduled afternoon aircraft less than an hour after takeoff.
NTD has learned that the autopilot disengaged on the Bering Air flight 445 when the airplane’s airspeed dropped to 99 knots.
“About 19 seconds later, the airspeed had decreased to about 70 knots, and the altitude was about 3,100 ft msl which was the end of the data available from the onboard avionics,” the initial report read. “During that time, the airplane had turned from a westerly course to a southerly course.”
“No emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal was detected from the airplane after the accident,” it read. “However, the on-scene examination determined that the ELT had become disconnected from the antenna likely during the impact sequence.”
The Cessna Caravan’s wreckage was found the following day on a large, drifting flat piece of floating ice after an extensive search. The nine passengers along with the pilot were all found deceased.
“When a portable ELT antenna was installed, a strong signal was heard from a handheld receiver,” investigators wrote. “Detailed follow-up airframe, engine, and propeller examinations are pending.”
Two defects with the plane had been addressed prior to departure, according to the report, following a review of the airplane’s log.
U.S. Civil Air Patrol radar data shows that the plane lost elevation and speed swiftly but the U.S. Coast Guard said no distress signals were sent out from the free-falling aircraft.
“The plane was flying in an area where moderate icing was possible between 2,000 feet and 8,000 feet and where the weather could be hazardous to light aircraft,” NTSB chairperson Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference in Nome last month.
Homendy added that the plane’s equipment would be evaluated as part of the investigation and that it had an anti-icing system on its wings and tail.
