Probable cause for plane crash may be imminent

A federal investigator says the probable cause for the 2015 small plane crash that killed four men near Westminster likely will be released soon.  Ralph Hicks of the National Transportation Safety Board tells 101.7/WGOG NEWS, “I am currently writing the factual report for the investigation.  I expect it and the Board’s probable cause report to be released soon.”  The 71-year old pilot, Charles Smith, and three other residents of Warsaw, Indiana were killed in a remote area not far from Lake Hartwell and the Georgia line.  They died October 2, 2015 as they began their approach for the Oconee Regional Airport and that weekend’s Clemson-Notre Dame football game.  Two weeks later, the NTSB published a preliminary report saying an “in-flight breakup” preceded the crash.  At the time, government investigators gathered debris with the intent to transport it to Atlanta to try to re-assemble the plane as much as possible.