Report says plane's pilot ignored controllers

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board indicates the pilot of a plane that flew out of Lake in the Hills and crashed in West Virginia, killing six Chicago-area residents, ignored a flight controller's instructions.

The report also found that no flight plan had been filed by the pilot.

The NTSB report, which provides preliminary facts but no analysis, noted the flight was originally planned for five people, not six. As it approached Huntington Tri-State Airport in West Virginia, the pilot issued a "mayday" call and told the controller he was low on fuel.

The NTSB reported that in the next 30 minutes, the controller attempted to help the plane land, but it failed to acquire or maintain the latitudes or headings assigned by the controller.

The twin-engine Piper PA-34 on Jan. 30, struck a power line and crashed near the Ohio and Kentucky state lines.

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.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=269011">Plane crash not caused by malfunction, officials say <span class="date">[02/03/09]</span></a></li> <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>