NTSB: Pilot To Blame For Owasso Plane Crash That Killed 3

NewsOn6.com

OWASSO, Oklahoma -- The National Transportation Safety Board blames the pilot for a plane crash that killed him and two other men on July 11, 2010.

According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, 64-year-old Richard Shimer was the pilot.  His passengers were Lonnie Hardin, 55, and Joseph Provenzano, 53.

According to the OHP, the plane was heading to Gundy's Airport at 76st Street North and 177th East Avenue when it nose dived into the ground short of the runway.

7/11/2010:  Related Story:  Feds Investigate Sunday's Fatal Plane Crash At Owasso Airport

In its Probable Cause report, the NTSB blames the crash on "the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during an engine-out approach to the runway, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion."

The NTSB believes the engine quit because it ran out of fuel, the plane then stalled and crashed into the ground as the pilot tried to make a forced landing.

Friends told News On 6 at the time that the men had flown another person to Stillwater that day and were on their way back to Owasso when the crash happened.

7/12/2010:  Related Story:  Victims In Deadly Owasso Plane Crash Remembered