TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed new details about a fatal plane crash at Eagle Mountain Lake earlier this month.
The plane descended at a 45-degree angle before it came to rest nose down in about 10 feet of water, according to the preliminary report from the NTSB.
The plane, a single-engine Champion 7EC, sustained “substantial” damage to the fuselage and both wings in the Oct. 7 crash. The wreckage was removed and taken to another location for examination, with the exception of the right wing and part of the engine, according to the report.
“Video footage showed the airplane to be structurally intact before the impact with the water,” the report said.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner identified the pilot killed as Stephen Spence, 60. Officials said Spence was in the plane alone.
According to his family, the plane was based at the Flying Oaks Airport in Tarrant County and the pilot planned to leave for lunch at an unknown location and then return to the Flying Oaks Airport, the report states.
A search revealed no automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast data associated with the flight, according to the report.
A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records showed that the pilot held a private pilot certificate (with an airplane single-engine land rating), and his most recent FAA medical certificate, was issued on Dec. 15, 2008, according to the report. FAA registration records showed the pilot bought the airplane on Nov. 5, 2004, the report states.
