NTSB: Plane's Engine Failed Before Crash Near Johnston County Airport

Apr. 19—SMITHFIELD — The plane that crashed near Johnston Regional Airport late last month experienced engine trouble shortly after takeoff, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

A flight instructor and student pilot were both seriously injured when the single-engine Diamond DA40 NG hit a stand of trees and landed upside down in a field on March 25. The plane belonged to Blue Line Aviation, a flight school based at the airport.

According to the NTSB, the plane had just taken off shortly after 4 p.m. and was climbing to an altitude of about 650 feet when the instructor reported hearing a "weird noise come from the engine."

As the RPM gauge dropped, the instructor directed the student pilot to turn back toward the airport. While in the turn, "the engine lost total power," according to the NTSB, and the instructor's attempts to restart it were unsuccessful.

The plane crashed about three-quarters of a mile from the end of the runway.

The two-page NTSB report lays out the federal agency's initial findings on the crash but does not make any conclusions about what might have caused the engine to fail. The report says a Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the engine after the crash and noted "a metal substance" in one of the cylinder valves, but it does not elaborate.

A final report identifying a likely cause will take a year or more to complete.

Both the instructor and student pilots were "alert and conscious" when EMS took them to the hospital, according to the Johnston County Sheriff's Office. Both are now recovering at home, according to Ashley Tucker, spokeswoman for Blue Line Aviation.

This story was originally published April 19, 2022 10:58 AM.

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