Investigators: Plane was wobbling before fatal Pa. crash

WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) — Federal investigators say a witness saw a small plane flying low and “wobbling” moments before it crashed at a southwestern Pennsylvania airport last month, killing a former Ukrainian champion figure skater.

Officials said Igor Novodran, 52, of Upper St. Clair, was practicing touch-and-go landings at Washington County Airport before the March 11 crash near the runway.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report quoted two airport workers as saying Novodran banked 90 degrees to the left while trying to make a “short final” approach to the runway and continued descending toward the ground.

Another witness who lives about a mile away in South Franklin Township said the airplane was flying much lower than other planes she has seen practicing touch-and-go landings on the runway, the (Washington) Observer-Reporter reported.

The witness said she saw the plane “wobbling” from side to side before it turned left and lost attitude, then heard a “muffled” sound she believed was an impact, according to the NTSB report.