NTSB Releases Report On Fatal Talihina Plane Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has released a new report on a plane crash near Talihina in October that killed an Arkansas man.

Elmer Ray Broadbent, 71, died when his single-engine Piper PA-28 crashed at about 3:30 p.m. on October 21, 2013. Because the plane went down in dense woods in a hilly area it was three days before a search crew located the wreckage.

Broadbent was a real estate agent and retired airline pilot who was flying from Searcy, Arkansas to Elk City, Oklahoma to finalize the sale of a house.

10/22/2013: Related Story: Crews Search For 71-Year-Old Missing Pilot In Eastern Oklahoma

According to the NTSB's Factual Report on the crash, Broadbent had reported that he'd accumulated 14,000 total flight hours on his most recent medical application.

The report also states Broadbent had survived a plane crash on April 21, 2012. The NTSB listed the cause of that crash as "The pilot's inadequate fuel monitoring, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion." The FAA gave Broadbent a re-examination check and cleared him to fly again on August 27, 2012, according to the report.

At the time of the fatal crash, the NTSB report says, there was moderate to heavy rain in the area and along Broadbent's flight path.

Radar data showed the airplane reached a maximum altitude of 2,800 feet above sea level before the plane disappeared from radar at 2:55 p.m. about 29 miles northeast of the crash site.

The NTSB says there was no contact recorded between the pilot and air traffic control during the flight. Witnesses described seeing the airplane at a low altitude flying in and out of clouds. Two witnesses reported heavy rain in the area when they saw the plane. All witnesses said the engine was running smoothly and the airplane did not appear to be in distress.

The Factual Report is the second of three reports the NTSB will issue on the crash. The Probable Cause Report usually follows the Factual in a few weeks or months.