NTSB Releases First Report on Fatal Plane Crash at Folsom Field
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) this week released its preliminary findings from the small airplane crash that claimed the lives of two local residents at Cullman Regional Airport on Jan. 5.
NTSB investigators visited the crash site that killed pilot Tyler Wesley Walker, 40, and Brooklyn Walker, 10, his daughter. Both Vinemont residents died when their Vans RV-6 small plane crashed near the end of Runway 2 during takeoff from the airport’s Folsom Field.
Airport officials declined to comment on the report, citing the ongoing federal investigation. The NTSB’s preliminary report, which is available publicly at the agency’s website, summarizes the material observations of the crash site and does not offer any opinion on the cause of the accident.
Among its detailed observations, the report notes that the plane “impacted an airport field about 1,500 ft from the departure end of runway 2,” and that “[t]he cockpit section of the airplane was crushed to the bulkhead of the fuselage.”
The report also noted that Tyler Walker, the pilot, “held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land,” and that he “held a third-class medical certificate that was issued November 24, 2014. The pilot's logbook was not available for review. The pilot reported 460 total hours of flight time at his last medical examination.”
As for the aircraft’s maintenance history, the report states that a “[r]eview of maintenance records revealed a condition inspection was completed on August 18, 2014, and an airworthiness certificate was issued on August 26, 2014, at a tachometer time of 3.5 hours. No further entries were in the maintenance logbooks. The tachometer and Hobbs meter were destroyed by impact forces.”
The NTSB’s preliminary report is the first in a series of reports the agency delivers as part of its investigation protocol for general aviation accidents. Typically, it is followed 12-24 months after an accident by a Factual Report, which is released at the end of the fact-gathering phase of an investigation. A Final Report, which gives finding and analysis, as well as probable cause of an accident, typically arrives six to eight weeks after the factual report has been released.
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