KOKOMO, Ind. (WTHR) — A National Transportation Safety Board report released Thursday says a plane crash that killed a Tampa, Florida doctor may have been caused by a wrong fuel type.
The examination revealed the presence of a clear liquid consistent in color and order with that of Jet A in a fuselage tank and in the fuel lines leading to the fuel manifolds of both engines.
Several of the engine spark plugs exhibited damage consistent with detonation.
The NTSB report says the airport employee who fueled the airplane asked the pilot if he wanted jet fuel and the pilot said "yes."
He said the he asked the pilot if he wanted jet fuel because the airplane looked like a jet airplane.
When the airplane arrived, the employee pulled the Jet A fuel truck out and parked it in front of the airplane while the pilot was still inside the airplane.
The employee said that he asked the pilot again if he was wanted jet fuel, and the pilot said "yes."
The employee fueled the airplane with about 163 gallons of Jet A from the fuel truck.
According to the NTSB report:
Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed the airplane wreckage path was about 328 ft in length along an approximate heading of 046° on a dry and hard surfaced fallow bean field. Components of the left side of the airplane were near the southwestern portion of the wreckage path. The wreckage and the wreckage path displayed features consistent with an accelerated stall.
It happened on the east side of Kokomo off of SR-22 and CR 300 E as you are heading towards Greentown.
The coroner confirms the plane left the Kokomo Municipal Airport shortly before the crash.
The Howard County Coroner has identified the pilot killed in the crash as 59-year-old Dr. Daniel P. Greenwald, M.D. of Tampa, Florida.