Plane crash not caused by malfunction, officials say
Federal investigators did not find any malfunctions in a small plane that took off from Lake in the Hills Airport Friday and crashed hours later in West Virginia, killing six people from the Chicago area.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said an agency investigator examined the air frame, engine and propellers of the plane and "found no mechanical anomalies."
The plane was carrying four members of the Chicago-based American Polish Aero-Club - Kazimierz Adamski of Morton Grove, Wieslaw Dobrzanski of Niles, Irenevsz Michalowski of Des Plaines, and Stanislaw Matras of Chicago - and their two guests Monika Niemiec and Stanley Niemiec, both of Harwood Heights.
The 34-year-old, fixed-wing, two-engine aircraft is registered to a Wilmington, Del.,-based company called Wesvin Inc. It was destined for Charlotte, N.C., and then headed to Clearwater, Fla.
"We have not yet located the maintenance records or the pilot records for this aircraft," Knudson said.
The only thing officials know for sure is the pilot radioed air traffic controllers for help and reported being low on fuel. "We're going to get our hands on the fuel load slip," Knudson said. "One thing we always look at in an accident is the weight and balance, was the weight under what the aircraft was certified to fly."
More than 1,000 people attended a weekend service for the plane crash victims at St. Constance Catholic Parish in Chicago.
None of the victims were registered members of the national church, yet they attended services occasionally, said the Rev. Thaddeus Dzieszko.
Lake in the Hills Airport Manager David Gregoria said neither the club nor the plane that crashed was based out of the airport, which houses 139 planes. The crew apparently stopped to buy fuel.
"We don't track when aircraft come and go," Gregoria said. "They stopped in sometime Friday. It appears that we were a fueling stop for them on the way."
A preliminary report on the crash should be available within 10 days.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=268759">Plane out of Lake in the Hills crashes in W. Virginia <span class="date">[02/02/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>