Pilot error caused crash, NTSB says

Associated Press

SALINA, Pa.

Federal investigators say pilot error caused the crash of a plane into a western Pennsylvania home almost two years ago that killed both men aboard and narrowly missed a man sleeping on his couch with his dog.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Edward Sobota, 65, of Unity was completing a “multi-engine instrument proficiency check-ride” with a certified flight examiner when the twin-engine plane crashed in Bell Township in August 2010, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Saturday.

“The pilot’s loss of control of the airplane during low-airspeed airwork and his failure to promptly recover the airplane from the aerodynamic stall, which resulted in a spin,” caused the crash, the report said. The safety board suggested that Sobota’s lack of recent flight experience with an airplane of that make and model were contributing factors, the paper said.

Sobota and Theodore Kokolis, 66, of Moon Township were killed in the crash of the BE58 about 30 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. No one on the ground was hurt. Homeowner Steve Yanko, asleep in the family room when the plane came through the roof, escaped through a door on the ground floor and was uninjured. Officials said the family dog, Asia, also got out safely.

Authorities said the plane had been properly inspected in March 2010 and had an unblemished maintenance history.