A preliminary report on the plane crash that killed three people in western Massachusetts over the weekend was released this week by the Federal Aviation Administration.
While the cause of the crash remains unknown, the FAA's report, released Tuesday, described the crash as an accident.
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The Beechcraft 55 Baron Twin-Piston took off from Barnes Airport in Westfield at about 11:06 a.m. Sunday. By 11:30 a.m., the small plane appeared like it was going to crash.
Over an hour later, the plane was found in a small clearing in the woods within the Leyden Wildlife Management Area, Massachusetts State Police said.
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Police said Sunday that the crash location was in a clearing on the side of a wooded mountain on the Greenfield-Leyden town line.
The three victims were identified Monday as 68-year-old William Hampton, of Indian Orchard, Massachusetts; 29-year-old Chad Davidson, of Woodstock, Connecticut; and 53-year-old Frederika Ballard, of Southwick, Massachusetts.
Ballard was the owner of the Fly Lugu Flight School in Westfield, Hampton was a flight instructor for the company and Davidson was a student pilot, state police said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA confirmed they were investigating after the twin-engine airplane crashed under unknown circumstances near the Leyden Wildlife Management Area, close to the Greenfield town line.
The NTSB will lead the investigation to determine what happened, with help from the FAA.
An NTSB investigator was scheduled to visit the site of the crash Monday to document the scene and examine the aircraft. The NTSB investigation will look at the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.
The investigator was supposed to collect information and records on flight track data, including air traffic control communications, aircraft maintenance and 72-hour background of the pilot.
The NTSB's final report is expected in 12 to 24 months, the agency said.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or has surveillance video or other information that could help the investigation should contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
