NTSB Report: Witnesses Saw Plane Go Into Spin Before Fatal Crash In Owasso

NewsOn6.com

OWASSO, OK -- The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on a plane crash that killed three people in Owasso earlier this month.

The crash killed pilot Rick Shimer, as well as his two passengers, Lonnie Hardin and Joe Provenzano.

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

According to the NTSB's report, the single-engine Cessna 177 crashed on approach to Gundy's Airport at about 8 p.m. on July 11th.

The flight had originated at Perry Airport in Goldsby, Oklahoma at about 7 p.m.

According to the report, several witnesses saw the airplane approach the airport from the west.  The witnesses say the airplane was making a left turn when it went into a spin and began losing altitude.

The plane hit the ground near the north end of the airfield and the investigator found signs that the airplane was in a left wing, nose-low attitude during the collision.

The investigator says there were no reported emergency or distress calls from the pilot.

The next report from the NTSB on the crash should be a factual report which will have more details about all aspects of the incident and may be finished in a few months.  The probable cause report would be the last report the NTSB files on the incident and may take more than a year to complete.

Shimer and Hardin had volunteered at the Oaks Indian Mission for troubled kids in Delaware County.

7/13/2010 Related Story:  Oaks Indian Mission Remembers 2 Men Killed In Owasso Plane Crash