On Feb. 13, a private plane crashed outside Steamboat Springs, killing two Tennessee businessmen and two other 21-year-old men. The pilot inadvertently took an approach that was not initially permitted during the night, according to a recent report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Who were the Tennesseans killed in the crash?
The report was published Feb. 27, identifying those who were on the onboard the plane as it crashed, the accident happened around 12:20 a.m., facing the Emerald Mountain. Aaron Stokes, 47, his son, 21-year-old Jakson Stokes, his nephew Colin Stokes, aged 21, and 38-year-old Austin Huskey; their bodies were recovered, and the families of the victims were notified on Friday, the day of the accident. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), airman and operator records show that the pilot had a commercial pilot certificate for aeroplane single-engine land with an instrument rating. The Epic Aircraft E1000 took off from the John C. Tune Airport (Nashville), it landed in Kansas City to refuel and departed just after 11 p.m.
NTSB reported that, at the time of the crash, there were two ‘Notice to Airmen’ issued for SBS, stating that the runway end identifier lights for runway 32 were unusable, as well as issues with the path indicator lights for that runway, also unusable. In the report, the controller cleared the pilot for approach to Steamboat Springs, the pilot acknowledged the clearance but replied with ‘RNAV 32 to Steamboat Springs.’ Further communications were not received from the pilot, and an alert notice was issued after an initial search for the wreckage after the crash. NTSB last year reported on a UPS plane crash, that resulted 14 deaths and was enroute to Hawaii.
NTSB states unauthorised circling and straight in on runway
The plane was found three miles south of the airport; data on the plane’s direction and speed can tell us that the plane was flying west over the state, going south, before crashing about 8,000 feet. The crew found a scar carved into the terrain, there were no mechanical issues with the plane that would have prevented normal operation. About 100 gallons of fuel still remained at the time of the accident, the records from the airport, tells us that planes that use ‘RNAV Z 32’ are prohibited from using the “circling and straight in” technique to the runway at night.
Due to a list of visual obstacles and a manoeuvre that isn’t allowed to be performed at night, this had caused the catastrophic crash that led to the Stokes and Huskey losing their lives. With the nature of the crash, the wreckage was retained to conduct an in-depth investigation.
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