JOHNSON COUNTY, Texas — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report detailing the leadup to a small plane crash last month in Johnson County that killed an 18-year-old man.
The crash was reported shortly before 9 p.m. May 15 near Godley, about nine miles northwest of the Cleburne Regional Airport, officials said.
The student pilot, identified as Jon Diego Monreal, of Crowley, died in the crash, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
His plane, a Cessna 150L, crashed in an open pasture near Godley around 8:30 p.m. May 15, officials said. There were no passengers on the flight.
Officials on site initially reported the plane appeared to have run out of fuel before the crash, but the preliminary report didn't state whether or not the plane had run out of fuel.
“A witness and her daughter were driving in their truck, less than one-fourth of a mile from the accident site, when they saw the airplane flying lower than what the witness thought was normal,” the NTSB report reads. “They saw the airplane flying very slow, almost ‘hovering,” before it suddenly entered a spiraling nosedive. The airplane completed at least 6-8 rotations in the descending spiral before it descended behind a hill. They subsequently called 911 to report the accident to local law enforcement after they saw smoke and fire ascending from the accident site.”
NTSB investigators found evidence of a postimpact fire that destroyed the entire cabin and cockpit, according to the report.
Examination of the wreckage showed no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure, according to the report.
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