RIDGECREST, Calif. (KERO) — A witness said a plane that crashed and killed two people Nov. 12th southwest of Ridgecrest may have experienced turbulence, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board Aviation crash report.
The witness said the plane appeared to be bouncing and the plane's bank angle increased to an estimated 90 degrees such that the plane was on a knife-edge, according to the report. The witness said the nose of the plane suddenly dropped and the aircraft descended rapidly before crashing into the ground, according to the report.
"The entire fuselage through to the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer, along with most of the right wing, and the inboard section of the left wing, sustained extensive thermal damage, melting most of the aluminum structure," according to the NTSB preliminary report.
Authorities identified one man killed in the crash as Hal Derwin Wood, 68, of Murrieta, Calif. The identity of the second man killed in the crash is still pending.
The crash happened at 2:15 p.m. on Nov. 12 near Garlock Road, north of Randsburg.
The investigation is ongoing.
NTSB preliminary plane crash report on Scribd
