Plane that crashed in Central KY last month made ‘grinding noise’ during descent
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- NTSB reports the plane began descending and lost radar contact about 8:45 a.m.
- A doorbell camera recorded the low-flying plane making a grinding noise, then popping.
- Witnesses said the fuselage separated and wreckage spanned about 1,700 feet.
The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report into a fatal airplane crash that occurred in Nicholasville last month.
The crash happened around 8:46 a.m. June 20 on a farm off Ky. 169, between U.S. 27 and U.S. 68 in Jessamine County. Brian Tonner, 72 and Karen Tonner, 71, a married couple from Florida, died in the crash.
The NTSB said the Tonners took off from Blue Grass Airport at around 8:40 a.m. in an experimental amateur-built Comp Air CA6-WB. The plane was headed to Gwinnett County Airport in Lawrenceville, Georgia, before continuing on to Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport in Fernandina Beach, Florida.
At 8:44 a.m., the plane reached an altitude of about 4,500 feet. Nearly one minute later, the plane began descending while steadily picking up ground speed, and the plane lost radar contact 26 seconds after it began descending, according to the NTSB.
Radio contact was also lost at the same time the plane lost radar contact, according to the NTSB. The wreckage was found approximately 1 mile away from the plane’s last point of contact.
Investigators reviewed doorbell camera footage that captured the crash. The footage spotted the plane flying at a low altitude while making a grinding noise, followed by a popping sound, according to the NTSB.
Investigators also spoke to witnesses, who claimed the fuselage separated from the wings and descended in an inverted, near-vertical direction, according to the NTSB.
The wreckage field spanned approximately 1,700 feet on the farm’s property. The NTSB said the plane did not catch fire or explode but was completely destroyed.
The plane was sent to a secure location for further examination, the NTSB said.
The NTSB did not provide a reason for why the plane crashed. The incident remains under investigation.
