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Fuel Pump Damage Uncovered in Plane Crash Report

By News 13

Story Created: Jul 30, 2010 at 7:21 AM EDT

Story Updated: Jul 30, 2010 at 7:21 AM EDT

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report into the plane crash that killed two people at the Jetport earlier this month, revealing corrosion on the fuel pump.

The crash occurred on July 17, killing pilot Mark Haskell and his passenger, Thomas Casagrande.

While the report does not uncover an exact cause of the crash, there were some key elements that may help reveal a cause in the future.

Witnesses report seeing the plane leave the Portland Jetport with its wings "rocking back and forth." There was also a "large cloud of dust and dirt" that witnesses saw in the air.

And then there are perhaps some of the final words of the pilot: When asked by air traffic control if everything was all right, he said yes, but then said "...it's getting awfully hot in here."

Shortly thereafter, the report says, there was an in-flight loss of control.

Upon examination of the plane, the NTSB reports some corrosion on the fuel pump, saying when investigators tested it the first time it worked for a short time, but when tested again it would not operate. That pump will be examined further.

The report also reveals that the plane had been inspected just 15 days before the crash.

The report is just the first phase of the investigation. An exact cause of the crash is still not known. A full report could be released in a year.

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Win Robbins said yesterday at 2:46 PM

Given the spate of samll plane crashes in Maine this summer, is there any possibility that 10% ethonol fuel ahs contaminated the aviation fuel supply in Maine? In the late 1990's there was an incident in Australia where refinery contamination occurred. Ethanol has caused corrsion problems with boat engine s

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