96.5 F
San Fernando
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Speed, Unlocked Door Contributed To Plane Crash

The pilot of a charter plane that crashed at Van Nuys Airport in January 2007 failed to maintain an adequate airspeed resulting in the aircraft going into a stall, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The failure to properly secure the front baggage door also contributed to the crash when it became open and distracted the pilot, the NTSB said in its probable cause report released April 30. The crash on Jan. 12 of the twin-engine Cessna Citation killed Frank Kratzer, a retired airline pilot, and Fernando “Chris” Fernandez. Kratzer was owner of Sun Quest Executive Air Charter based at Van Nuys. Kratzer and Fernandez were on their way to Long Beach to pick up passengers before continuing to Arizona when the plane crashed. Line personnel told NTSB investigators that one of the pilots pulled the front left baggage door down but did not lock or latch it. Witnesses near the end of the runway saw the left baggage door open as the plane took off. “All of the witnesses reported that the airplane turned slightly left, leveled off, and was slow. The airplane began to descend, and the wings were slightly rocking before it stalled, broke right, and collided with the terrain,” the NTSB said. The baggage door was found among the wreckage with the key lock in the horizontal, or unlocked, position, the NTSB said.

Featured Articles

Related Articles