The NTSB released a report, citing pilot error and a lack of training in a 2016 plane crash in Alabama that killed six people from Oxford, Mississippi, including four dentists, on their way back from a professional conference in Florida.
The twin-engine plane was going from Kissimmee, Florida to the Oxford University airport when it went down near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, August 14, 2016.
According to Alabama authorities, the plane crashed after the pilot issued a distress call around 11:10 a.m. reporting engine trouble. The NTSB report says about an hour and 45 minutes into a 5 hour flight, the pilot reported a failure in one, then both fuel pumps.
Rescue crews were staged at the runway, but the plane never made it as it crashed into the woods near the airport.
The NTSB report says a flight instructor who had previously flown with the pilot said the pilot had not had training in the airplane involved to include single-engine operations and emergency procedures. The report says it’s likely the pilot did not follow a procedure to switch fuel tanks and misdiagnosed the problem. The NTSB cited the lack of training as a contributing factor.
The victims identified were Oxfords dentists, Drs. Lea and Jason Farese, Dr. Michael Perry and his wife, Clarksdale, and Dr. Austin Poole and his wife. The three couples had a total of 11 kids.
