MESA, Ariz. (AP) - A preliminary report indicates a single-engine plane may have been experiencing engine trouble before it crashed May 17 at a Phoenix-area airport, killing the two people aboard.
The National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report says multiple witnesses reported hearing “popping” noises and a loud “bang” after the plane took off and that it appeared the engine wasn’t producing enough power.
Commercial airline pilot Jesse R. Goodwin of Gilbert, Arizona, and 18-year-old exchange student Ataberk Besler of Cannakkale, Turkey, were killed in the crash of the North American Aviation AT-6.
The NTSB preliminary report says the plane crashed and burned immediately after making a 180-degree turn once it flew over an airport perimeter road.
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