NTSB Investigating GSP Plane Crash

**Tuesday 4:04 p.m. Update**

The FAA investigators from the local FAA office who were at the scene provided the NTSB investigator with the information they gathered. The NTSB has also conducted one interview and either the NTSB and/or the FAA will be conducting other interviews in the coming days, including speaking to the individuals onboard the aircraft.

Beechcraft, the manufacturer of the aircraft, has been invited to be a party to the NTSB investigation and there may be other party members invited, but the NTSB does not have that information at this time. The FAA is always a mandated party to every NTSB civil aviation accident.

The aircraft was a Beechcraft turboprop with Pratt & Whitney engines. The NTSB says there is nothing unusual with regard to the flight path or altitude.

The NTSB talked to a witness at a manufacturing plant about 2-3 miles from the scene who noticed the right engine was “feathering” meaning it was spinning so slowly that the individual could see the blades turning.

The NTSB says the wreckage will be moved later today to Georgia to a facility for further inspection, examination and testing..

The NTSB has put in a request for the air traffic control tapes from the FAA, but has not yet received them.

The FAA’s on scene wreckage examination revealed ½ gallon of fuel in the aircraft’s tank. Conditions were Visual Flight Rules (VFR). There was substantial damage to the airframe.

The NTSB says the next steps include the further wreckage examination and testing, additional interviews and possible invitations to other potential party members who could provide additional technical expertise to the NTSB investigation.

**Tuesday 4:25 a.m. Update**

Derrick Holiday's status has been upgraded to good condition Tuesday morning according to Greenville Hospital System. Ed Wilk remains in fair condition, but Mado McDonald is upgraded to serious condition.

The investigation into a Monday morning plane crash at GSP continues, and now the pilot of that plane is being called a hero. As News Channel 7 first reported on air and here online, Mado McDonald of Virginia Beach, Virginia was the pilot of the Beechcraft King Air turbo prop that skipped across Highway 14 and came to rest on a hill just short of the runway. The plane was said to be on a test flight after maintenance was performed by Stevens Aviation. Two Stevens Aviation employees, Ed Wilk and Derrick Holliday, were injured in the crash. Wilk is in fair condition, Holliday is in serious but stable condition, and McDonald is listed in critical but stable condition. Wilk has been an employee of Stevens for 12 years, Holliday for 9 years.

Friends and co-workers of McDonald are calling him a hero. Kent Ewing, a friend of McDonald's for 10 years, is an instructor with him in the Beechcraft Pilot Prof Program. "He's a very professional pilot," Ewing says. "Very much by the book, doesn't take chances." Ewing credits McDonald's extensive experience for his nearly perfect landing Monday. "He missed the highway and the cars. He did the best he could," he says. "The old saying is, any landing you can walk away from is a good one." McDonald suffered a broken hip and ankle.

The plane is registered to MDTR Holdings LLC in Virginia Beach. Bridget Serchak with the NTSB says when the FAA is ready they will call on the NTSB to conduct a limited investigation into the crash of the plane. She says that should happen Tuesday. With a limited investigation, no investigator will go to the scene; they will gather info from the FAA and other sources and make determination. She says the NTSB investigates about 1600 plane crashes a year, most like today’s crash, smaller planes.

A crane and a flatbed truck arrived at the crash scene late Monday and removed the wreckage.

Neal McGrail Chief, Operating Officer of Stevens Aviation, says the plane came into the facility for maintenance. He does not know what type of maintenance.

Two of his employees who are maintenance techs went up with the pilot after the pilot asked the two techs to check out an avionics problem. The techs went up in the plane which McGrail says is standard procedure, "It's like taking your car to the mechanic and describing the problem," says McGrail.

"Sometimes they might take the car out on the road to get a better feel for what's wrong with it. Obviously, if the technicians had believed there was a problem that could have made the plane unsafe to fly, they would not have taken it up. And it is very likely that whatever caused the crash was not the issue which the pilot wanted them to look at." McGrail says.

Chris Cato has more on the maintenance the plane had just had completed. Watch his report here.

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