No flight plan was filed for the private flight of a retired Navy commander and former Tyco executive from New Hampshire whose small plane went down in the Atlantic Ocean off Breezy Point in Queens earlier this month, a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report has found.
The pilot and lone occupant of the aircraft, Brad McGee, died in the Nov. 4 crash. Witnesses had reported seeing his Flight Design GMBH CTLS, a light-sport airplane, descend into the ocean that evening. One witness described the descent angle as a 45-degree nose down dive into the water and said he heard an "explosion" a short time later.
The aircraft, which had departed from Northeast Philadelphia Airport at about 7 p.m. en route to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was destroyed in the crash about half an hour after takeoff, authorities said.
According to the preliminary NTSB report, no noticeable mechanical issue was detected. The aircraft had been topped off with fuel prior to departure. All major components of the aircraft were recovered from the water, and authorities determined flight control had not been affected.
The propeller remained attached to the engine. All three blades were fractured about midspan from the propeller hub. Spark plugs exhibited normal wear.
The parachute was found separated from the airplane and had been partially deployed.
The preliminary investigation did not reveal a possible cause of the crash. A final NTSB report on the crash is due out in about a year.
Small planes like the Flight Design GMBH CTLS don't technically have flight data recorders, NTSB officials said previously, but they might have memory devices or GPS.
Local
According to plane flight records obtained by NBC 4 New York, the same pilot made a hard landing in the aircraft two years ago. The FAA found it was due to pilot error.
