A fiery plane crash at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport that killed an instructor and student pilot on Labor Day came after the plane was seen flying “very erratically” during multiple go-around maneuvers at the Kearny Mesa airport, federal investigators said in a preliminary report released Thursday.
Read more Carlsbad Village theater sold, new owners say it could offer dinner and shows
Security-camera video footage from the airport and nearby businesses showed the Cessna 172 on Sept. 7 flying repeated “go-arounds,” a maneuver in which pilots begin and then abort a landing attempt on final approach.
Witnesses told National Transportation Safety Board investigators that the single-engine four-seat plane was observed pitching upward steeply after the maneuvers were initiated, then flying very slowly and “stalling” before the plane recovered.
“On the ninth approach, the airplane can be seen in one of the videos flying low near the ground as it approached the runway, nosing over, pitching up and then nosing over a second time,” the report said. “The airplane entered a steep left descending turn and impacted … near the runway threshold.”
The crash killed flight instructor Frederic Hewett, 37, and student pilot Roger Shimizu, 45.
Hewett held certificates as a commercial pilot, a flight instructor and a ground instructor for advanced instruments. He grew up in San Diego County and graduated from Valhalla High School in Rancho San Diego before going on to UC Irvine.
Read more Hate crime charges not filed against teen in Imperial Beach graffiti case
His family said aviation was his passion, and he had worked as a flight instructor for several years. He was fluent in Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Spanish, and enjoyed helping foreign students learn to fly in the U.S.
The NTSB report said the instructor and student pilot were practicing left-hand visual traffic patterns the entire flight, which began around 4:15 p.m. The plane crashed around 5:20 p.m.
After impact, the aircraft came to rest on a taxiway, where it burst into flames. The fire caused heavy thermal damage to the wings, fuselage and cowling, or engine covering, of the Cessna. The plane was registered to Jamie Dockins, who founded Fly San Diego flight school and who listed an Idaho address on the FAA registration. No one on the ground was injured.
The preliminary report said investigators were able to examine cockpit controls of the wrecked plane, the engine’s crankshaft and the plane’s damaged propeller. “No anomalies were identified that would have precluded the normal production of engine power,” the report said.
Preliminary reports present factual information gathered during the initial phase of an investigation. A probable cause of the crash, along with any contributing factors, will be detailed in the agency’s final report, which is expected in 12 to 24 months, an agency spokesperson said.
Read more Girl accused of aiding San Diego mosque attack called police on day of shootings, her attorney says
