Federal authorities have released a preliminary report on a fatal plane crash that occurred in Independence County last month.
On Jan. 12, a Bellanca 7GCBC single-engine aircraft was damaged when it became entangled in power lines about 150 feet above the ground near Pfeiffer around 2:30 p.m., according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
A pilot flying about a half-mile behind and 2,000 feet above the Bellanca told investigators he had remarked to his passenger that the plane was flying unusually low in the valley. Moments later, he saw blue sparks as the aircraft struck the high-tension power lines, the NTSB report stated.
The second pilot went to the crash site, where the Bellanca’s pilot, Steve Carpenter of Batesville, told him he had not seen the wires due to the “snowy backdrop.”
Carpenter was fatally injured during the rescue operations that followed, according to the report.
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