In a report published May 8, the National Transportation Safety Board has identified the probable cause of a plane crash in Owls Head in November 2012 that claimed the lives of three young men.
Pilot William “BJ” Hannigan, III, 24, of Portland, and passengers David Cheney, 22, of Beverly, Mass., and Marcelo Rugini, 24, of Muliterno, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, all died in the Nov. 16 crash.
Rugini was a co-worker and friend of the Spear family that operates Spear’s Farm on Upper East Pond Road in Nobleboro.
In a preliminary finding published just days after the crash, the NTSB said the plane appeared to have been damaged in a collision on a runway at Knox County Regional Airport just prior to takeoff with a privately owned pickup truck operated by Stephen Turner, then 62, of Camden, who worked for Penobscot Island Air.
According to the NTSB’s May 8 report, the board determined the crash’s probable cause to be: “The vehicle driver’s failure to verify that the runway was not occupied by an airplane before crossing the runway, which resulted in the vehicle being struck by a departing airplane, and the pilot’s continued takeoff with flight control damage, which subsequently resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin at low altitude.”
The report states that it could not be determined whether Turner or Hannigan had announced their intentions over the airport’s common traffic advisory frequency.
“Although the airplane was close to or perhaps past liftoff speed, the pilot likely could have stopped the airplane on the remaining 3,600-feet of paved runway following the impact with the vehicle,” the report states. “However, the pilot did not discontinue the takeoff.”
After the collision, witnesses observed the airplane attempt to climb, drift left of the runway, and and begin a left turn. “Witnesses then observed the airplane in ‘slow flight’ and subsequently spinning until impact,” according to the report.
The NTSB’s report is available for viewing at here.
