SNOHOMISH, Wash. — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report into its investigation of the Snohomish plane crash that killed four people in November.
The Cessna 208B, on lease to Raisbeck Engineers, left Renton around 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 18. It crashed in an agricultural field around 10:20 a.m. while maneuvering near Harvey Airfield in Snohomish. There was a fire after the crash.
The right wing was found about 200 yards away from the fuselage, which is the main body of the plane, according to the NTSB.
Investigators took the recovered wreckage to a facility where it will be reconstructed as part of the NTSB’s investigation.
According to the preliminary report, the plane descended nose down in a near-vertical corkscrew motion toward the ground. The report also revealed witnesses reported seeing a "white plume of smoke" before it broke into pieces.
The report said the test flights began two days before the crash. The flights were testing the plane's "stall characteristics." According to the report, Raisbeck Engineering was testing its aerodynamic drag reduction system to "expand the applicability" to another plane model.
A test pilot that flew the plane the day before reportedly told NTSB that the plane was on its second-to-last maneuver when it crashed.
Although the NTSB released its preliminary report, the investigation won’t be complete for another year or two.
The four victims include: David Newton, 67, of Wichita, Kansas; Nathan Precup, 33, of Seattle; Nate Lachendro, 49, of Gig Harbor; Scott Brenneman, 52, of Roy. The group consisted of two test pilots, a flight test director and an instrumental engineer. All worked for Raisbeck, which is an aircraft modification company.
The pilots were on a test flight to collect baseline data before modifying the plane.