Thursday, November 12, 2015
Akron Beacon Journal (TNS)
AKRON
The weather is among the factors investigators will examine to determine the cause of a deadly plane crash in Akron on Tuesday that killed all nine people on board.
They also will be looking into reports that the private jet clipped power lines before crashing into an apartment building in the Ellet neighborhood, bursting into flames.
“Our mission is to determine not only what happened but why it happened to prevent it from happening again,” Bella Dinh-Zarr, vice chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday afternoon during a press conference.
The crash, the deadliest in Akron’s history, captured national and international attention. National affiliates, along with journalists from media markets across Ohio, camped out near the crash scene Wednesday, looking for any kernel of new information about the identifies of the victims and cause of the crash.
So far, there is no indication that either the pilot or co-pilot of the jet sent out a distress call before the craft crashed just before 3 p.m. Tuesday in rainy weather, the NTSB said Wednesday afternoon. It appears the crash happened on the pilot’s first approach to land at nearby Akron Fulton International Airport, investigators said.
“We have recovered the cockpit voice recorder,” Dinh-Zarr said at a news conference near the site of the crash.
The recorder is being sent to Washington, D.C., for analysis. Investigators also said they have a video showing the jet flying at a low altitude and then banking before crashing.
The recovery and identification of bodies from the corporate jet crash in Akron’s Ellet neighborhood will be a lengthy process, authorities said Wednesday.
Forensic investigators were at the scene near Mogadore and Skelton roads, sifting through the wreckage to recover the nine individuals, including seven workers from a Florida real estate company, who died in the crash. The other two were the pilot and co-pilot.
The Dinh-Zarr said her investigative team likely will be on the scene for another four to five days. Recovery of the aircraft should start Thursday, she said. The two engines will be sent to the manufacturer, Honeywell, for analysis.
“We will not be determining a probable cause of the accident while on scene,” she said. The agency’s team will not speculate on a cause, she said.
The NTSB said it interviewed the pilot of another aircraft that landed safely at Akron Fulton Airport shortly before the jet crash. The pilot was not identified.
The conditions at the time allowed for instrument landings at the airport, Dinh-Zarr said.
Jim Silliman, the NTSB’s investigator in charge, said the unidentified pilot who landed safely was on the same radio frequency as the doomed jet and did not hear a distress call before the crash. Silliman noted that the Akron airport does not have a staffed control tower.
Meanwhile, work was being done to remove the victims from the charred site and identify them.
“We’re doing a very organized and systematic removal of these folks,” Summit County medical examiner Dr. Lisa Kohler said at a news conference.
Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Haymaker added: “The recovery process is going to be lengthy.”
The Hawker 700 twin-engine jet was flying from the Dayton area to Akron Fulton Airport when it hit power lines and then slammed into a four-family apartment complex, erupting into flames. The NTSB said the initial investigation shows the jet’s left wing hit the ground first. After hitting the residence, the 10-seat plane struck an embankment.
While there was no one in the four-unit building that was destroyed, residents from two neighboring four-unit apartment buildings were evacuated, Haymaker said.
Kohler said authorities would not release the names of the victims until they have been positively identified and their families notified. That could take awhile, she said.
Others, however, disclosed information about the people who were killed in the crash.
The passengers on the charter plane were from Boca Raton, Fla.-based Pebb Enterprises, which owns and operates residential, commercial and corporate properties in several states, including the Shoppes at Chapel Hill in Cuyahoga Falls.
The company’s website said two of its principals and five employees perished in the crash, but did not identify them.