Federal Investigators Reveal Details About Hanover Twp. Plane Crash in Preliminary Report
Nov. 30—The pilot killed in the plane that crashed last month in Hanover Twp. sensed problems with the plane prior to taking off from the Wyoming Valley Airport in Forty Fort, according to a preliminary crash report released by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Ronald Snyder, 76, of Bernville, Berks County, and Michael Bowen, 59, of Jonestown, Lebanon County, died in the Oct. 29 crash near Doran's Farm and the Liberty Hills housing development along St. Mary's Road.
The two-seat, single-engine plane — which was described as an "experimental, amateur-built" Bearhawk Patrol aircraft — was registered with the Federal Aviation Administration to Snyder, according to Flightaware.com.
The NTSB's preliminary investigation reveals the pilot told a friend upon arrival at the Wyoming Valley Airport that the plane seemed to "kick" laterally during turns following flights earlier that day from the Farmers Pride Airport in Lebanon County and then from the Hazleton Regional Airport in Hazleton.
The friend took the plane for a 10-minute flight and noticed an "odd yawing," according to the report.
The pilot responded he would address the issue "this winter," the report said.
After lunch and refueling of the plane, the pilot and his passenger got in the plane to head back to the Lebanon County airport.
The plane climbed to 1,700 feet, but was only in the air for several minutes, the report said.
Witnesses reported the plane "rolled" then "bucked" as its nose "dipped down" initially before "pitching up quickly," the report said.
The witness said the "pilot was out of the airplane" by this time and "spiraling down" as the airplane descended and crashed "near vertical nose down" along St. Mary's Road in Hanover Twp.
Parts of the plane were recovered as far away as 1,900 feet and the pilot's remains were located 530 feet away from the wreckage, the report said.
There was no evidence of any fire on the plane, the report said.
Wreckage of the plane was retained by the NTSB for further examination.
Contact the writer:
570-821-2055, @cvbobkal
___
(c)2022 The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
Visit The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) at citizensvoice.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
