New developments were revealed Friday into the moments leading up to the fiery crash at the Fresno
Chandler Airport.
NTSB investigators say a licensed pilot in his seventies clipped a tree of a
house at Thorne and Kearney Blvd., then crashed and burned on impact in another
yard at West and Chandler Ave...less than a mile from the airpot.
KSEE 24's Lemor Abrams has the latest from NTSB and reaction from a local
experienced pilot.
As NTSB drove off with the burned plane wreckage Friday, Jack Wiegand spoke
to us from his hangar...feet away from the crash site.
"It's surprising because planes are really safe
machine--it's really hard to get in trouble," said Wiegand.
Wiegand says he proved that... this summer when he became the youngest pilot
to fly around the world, 25,000 miles, in two months, at 21 years old.
But on Thursday evening, Wiegan flew his Piper into the Chandler
Airport...just an hour before a licensed pilot crashed this small Cessna about
3:30pm.
"What was unique about that day was that it was a hazy day...and the crash
was also at night so it's not norm of flying and the haze decreases visibility,"
he said.
NTSB Investigator Josh Cawthra says the pilot radioed in about 10 minutes
South of Fresno, reporting he could see the airport.
And as he got closer, investigators say the pilot began circling the
runway...before ultimately clipping a tree and crashing in a yard less than a
mile West of the runway.
"We're in data collection mode in hopes to determine what caused the
crash and why," said Cawthra.
The Fresno Co. Coroner says the pilot, a man in his seventies from Tehachapi,
and the 9-year-old from Fresno, were badly burned.
Wiegand's heart goes out to the families.