Probable cause for plane crash is imminent

Indications are the federal agency that investigated the fatal crash of a small plane in Oconee County more than a year and a half ago is about to issue its analysis and probable cause.  The private Piper airplane carried a pilot and three other Notre Dame football fans on their way to a game at Clemson.  The crash occurred October 2, 2015 near Westminster.  Appearing on its website today is a factual report of what happened.  That National Transportation Safety Board factual report includes the following account as the plane crossed Lake Hartwell into Oconee County for landing at the Oconee Regional Airport:  “At 1510:06, at 5,991 ft GPS altitude, the airplane entered an increasingly, tightening, descending right turn, and within 16 seconds, its ground speed increased from 150 knots to 212 knots.  At 1510:56 (50 seconds later,) the pilot of a military flight, call sign ‘Blackbird 89,’ reported hearing a ‘mayday’ call that an airplane was ‘going down.’”  According to that account, radar data showed the flight was lost over Lake Hartwell, on the Georgia/South Carolina border, about 2,200 ft msl.” The 71-year old pilot, Charles Smith, and three other residents of Warsaw, Indiana were killed. Two weeks later, the NTSB published a preliminary report saying an “in-flight breakup” preceded the crash.