MAYFIELD, KY â€� Mechanical was scrutinized to no conclusive finding in an initial crash report released by the National Transportation Safety Board on the February 22nd crash that killed a Kentucky man near the Mayfield Graves County Airport. Â
The private pilot, Henry Babenco, 60, of Paducah, KY was killed in the crash.
The report cites a witness who saw the airplane conducting 'touch-and-go' landings on the runway.
SIU aviation expert and flight instructor Mike Robertson about this practice and he said it's very common, but it's not for beginners.
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"Because you do have to make some changes on the ground before you can take off and so things could go wrong if you don't configure the plane right, so it just depends on the pilot. But if they're a private pilot they should be relatively experienced with a touch and go," said Robertson.
The report indicates around 5:57 p.m., a ten year old experimental amateur-built Vans RV-7, registered as N383DB, was 'substantially damaged' in the crash.Â
Another witness, who was traveling in a nearby vehicle described "as the airplane went higher, the tail dropped and the plane went into a back flip." Then the airplane went nose first towards the ground prior to the crash in an open field near the airport.
The NTSB said the post-accident examination of the wreckage revealed that all components of the airplane were accounted for at the accident scene and flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit controls to each flight control surface.
The report said crews examined the airplane's engine and saw no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operation.
An engine data monitor was recovered and its findings could be included in the final report when it is completed. It's unclear when that will be available for public view.
