NTSB provides preliminary report on fatal Stagecoach Care Flight Crash
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report regarding the fatal Stagecoach Care Flight crash that took the lives of all five passengers.
The flight left Reno-Tahoe Airport bound for Salt Lake City, Utah on Feb. 24 at around 9 p.m., operated by Guardian Flight and doing business as Care Flight, and crashed only approximately 15 minutes after take off.
At 9:08 p.m., the pilot made contact with Oakland Air Route Traffic Control indicating he was climbing through 15,400 feet. The controller instructed the pilot to climb and maintain a level of 25,000 and issued a caution for light to moderate turbulence.
The pilot acknowledged the caution, and no further radio transmissions were received from the pilot.
Review of the flight data indicates that at around 9:05 p.m., the plane made a left turn towards the southeast at around 12,100 feet. The plane continued to ascend southeasterly until 9:08 p.m. when the plane turned northeast at 15,700 ft.
The plane continued to ascend to 18,300 feet and made another turn southeast at 9:11 p.m. and remained on the heading for 47 seconds before another left turn towards the northeast was initiated at 18,900 ft.
At around 19,100 ft, a right descending turn was observed at 9:13 p.m.
The plane remained in a descending right turn until data contact was lost at 9:14 p.m. at an altitude of 11,100 ft.
Within the report, it was noted that several pieces of the right wing structure of the plane were located about 0.70 miles southwest of the main wreckage site. Two sections of the outboard right wing were also located about 0.34 miles southwest of the main wreckage, and the right horizontal stabilizer was located about 0.52 miles southwest of the main wreckage.
The left wing remained mostly intact and attached to the fuselage.
The wreckage has been taken to a secure location for further examination. A more detailed report will be provided after the wreckage is examined.
The full 3-page report can be viewed here.