YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The National Transportation Safety Board issued a preliminary report in its investigation of the fatal June 29 crash of a Cessna 441 flying out of Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
The crash resulted in the deaths of its four passengers, including James Weller, president and CEO of Liberty Steel Industries Inc. Also killed in the crash was the plane’s pilot, Joseph Maxin, director of compliance for the Western Reserve Port Authority, which manages the airport, and lead flight instructor at the airport’s new flight school, and co-pilot Timothy Blake.
According to the report, Maxin was issued an instrument flight rules clearance from the regional airport to Bozeman Yellowstone international Airport in Bozeman, Mont. The flight was issued taxi instructions, and the local controller issued takeoff clearance from runway 32.
Video from the terminal ramp security camera at the airport captured an increase in sound from the “accident airplane” about 5:52 a.m., while video without sound from the Youngstown Air Reserve Station side of the airport “captured the airplane rotating just prior to taxiway C, with the estimated point of rotation approximately 4,400 to 4,500 feet down the 9,003-foot runway.”
The plane ascended to an estimated altitude of about 100 feet above ground level before leveling off and continuing along the runway, heading at a consistent altitude until it was no longer visible on camera.
According to Federal Aviation Administration Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast data cited in the preliminary report, “[T]argets were noted during almost the entire takeoff roll and continued to very close proximity to the first identified broken tree limb on the ground associated with the impact sequence. A review of reported barometric altitude data while airborne compared to while on the runway revealed only about 100 feet of altitude gain during the entire flight.”
Security camera video from a farm east of the accident site showed the airplane emerging from behind trees flying at a low altitude in a westerly direction in a nearly nose-level and wings-level attitude. The video, with sound, depicted the airplane flying for about seven seconds before going out of view behind trees.
Witnesses northwest from the accident site reported hearing the sound of an airplane initiating its takeoff roll, then heard a “noticeable pitch change” in the sound of the engine. The airplane never appeared above the tree line, and the engine was “roaring,” they reported.
“Moments later, they heard the sound of trees breaking, followed by a loud explosion, and observed smoke rising from the area where the airplane had gone down,” according to the preliminary report. Video from the airbase side of the airport also captured smoke from the post-crash fire.
The Cessna hit trees in a heavily wooded area, separating a major portion of the left wing, the report continued. The cockpit, cabin, right wing and separated section of the left wing were heavily damaged by the post-crash fire.
The Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System was retained for readout by the manufacturer, while the throttle quadrant, annunciator panel and inboard section of the right elevator torque tube were retained for examination by NTSB’s materials laboratory. Also, both engines and propellers were retained for further examination at each manufacturer’s facility, with NTSB oversight.