NTSB Says Pilot Error Cause Of 2010 Fatal Alpine Plane Crash
By: Dylan Brooks
Updated: November 29, 2011
ALPINE -- Pilot error is to blame for a fatal plane crash that happened near Alpine last summer.
An airplane was carrying a medical patient from Alpine to Odessa crashed minutes after takeoff early on July 4th, 2010 -- killing 5 people on board.
The National Transportation Safety Board says there was nothing mechanically wrong with the plane at the time of the crash. But the N.T.S.B. says the pilot might have been drowsy, since he was usually sleeping at the hour of the night when the crash took place.
According to the report, the pilot had forgotten to pull up the plane's landing gear and wing flaps after takeoff. The plane crashed with the gear still exposed.
Four of the crash victims were from West Texas -- including two from Midland.
An airplane was carrying a medical patient from Alpine to Odessa crashed minutes after takeoff early on July 4th, 2010 -- killing 5 people on board.
The National Transportation Safety Board says there was nothing mechanically wrong with the plane at the time of the crash. But the N.T.S.B. says the pilot might have been drowsy, since he was usually sleeping at the hour of the night when the crash took place.
According to the report, the pilot had forgotten to pull up the plane's landing gear and wing flaps after takeoff. The plane crashed with the gear still exposed.
Four of the crash victims were from West Texas -- including two from Midland.
