NTSB rules out weather in Naperville plane crash

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board seems to eliminate weather-related issues as the cause of the Oct. 10 crash of a private plane in southwest Naperville in which the pilot and his wife miraculously escaped with their lives.

According to the aviation report released late Monday, the noon skies were clear and calm when Lloyd and Maureen McKee's Piper PA-32R-300 six-seater airplane crashed into the cupola atop the XSport Fitness at 2780 Fitness Drive.

The three-page report listed the temperature at the time of the crash as 69.8 degrees and winds blowing at 9.2 mph when the plane took off from runway 36 at the Naper Aero Club Airport.

“On October 6, 2010, at 1204 central daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-300, N3402Q, sustained substantial damage on impact with a building after takeoff from runway 36 (2,575 feet by 30 feet, asphalt) at Naper Aero Club Airport, Naperville, Illinois, the report narrative read. “Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight had an instrument rules flight plan on file. The private pilot and passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.

NTSB officials have not returned calls for comment on the crash since it occurred and were unavailable Monday and Tuesday.

Days after the crash, Mark Banovetz, president of the Naper Aero Club and a neighbor of the Naperville couple injured in the crash said he believed the cause of the crash would eventually be determined to be engine failure during takeoff.

Lloyd McKee, 66, was released from Edward Hospital late last week and transferred to an undisclosed facility. His wife, Maureen, 63, recently was upgraded to good condition at Edward.